


Tables

by mylevelance



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Waitress - Bareilles/Nelson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BB-8 is a lawful evil cat, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Inspired by Waitress - Bareilles/Nelson, M/M, Realtor!Hux, Slow Burn, Waitress!Rose, bickering is everyone's love language, kylo is a professional simp, stormpilot workplace romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27113704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylevelance/pseuds/mylevelance
Summary: Rose likes it when things make sense. The diner has a lot of things that just make sense. Rey's always making god-tier pies, Poe's always shouting orders in the kitchen, Finn's always keeping everyone on track, BeeBee's always testing the limits of pest control.Then a man with sharp eyes walks in to turn the tables on her.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico, background Poe Dameron/Finn, background Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren - Relationship
Comments: 62
Kudos: 152





	1. Opening Up

**Author's Note:**

> I heard a pitched-down audio on tiktok of Never Ever Getting Rid of Me from Waitress last week and the Waitress/Star Wars AU took hold in my brain. 
> 
> Anyway, if you enjoy this high quality literary experience, feel free to drop a comment! Criticism is only accepted in deep fried meme format. Planning on updating weekly, but this is my procrastination tool so it'll probs b more often.
> 
> Toodles!
> 
> -mylevelance

[](https://ibb.co/CKDWTm0)

[ ](https://ibb.co/CKDWTm0)

Rose’s shoes squeaked across the linoleum. The floor was only ever clean enough to make her steps squeak first thing in the morning. By midday, she and the floor both, would be covered in a fine layer of grime. 

She adjusted the forks on table three until they were parallel with the edge of the table. She tugged table seven until the legs lined up perfectly with the tiles on the floor. She wiped a near invisible smudge off of the pastry display case. 

The morning light through the windows painted the diner in gentle blues and glowing oranges. The faint hum of the kitchen fridge and the incandescents above created her favourite harmony. Everything was right in its place, Rose didn’t have to guess or wonder about a single thing. 

Something crashed to the ground in the kitchen. 

“Y’alright?” Rose called as she hurried to the back. She pushed through the swinging door to the kitchen. In the middle of a pile of sugar, flour, and butter on the kitchen floor sat Rey. Her orange and white waitress uniform was dusted in flour.

“I’m fine,” said Rey, British accent peeking through every other word, “Just bumped into the stool.”

Rose gripped her arm to help her to her feet, careful not to step in the mess. She was glad to see only metal bowls had gone flying. Every day in the diner something broke, but 7am was a bit early for all that. 

“You sure you’re fine?”

Rey nodded again, tucking a slip brown hair that had come loose back behind her ear. Rose thought she looked a bit rundown. Not to say that she looked bad, Rey had an easy, grounded kind of beauty, but her brown eyes were glassy and her usually energetic movements were slow. 

Rey caught her skeptical look, “I’ll be fine, my landlord just had me balance his accounts last night and I didn’t have time to get to it until late. My fault, really.”

“If he wanted to get an accountant, he should hire one. You shouldn’t have to do stuff like that.”

Rey shrugged, “It’s really alright, he gives me a discount some months. Here, taste this!”

She swiped a fork from the clean bin and pointed to a pie cooling on the counter. Rose took the fork gingerly. The pie crust was golden and pastry strips lay across some kind of red filling. Rose carefully carved out a side piece and put a bite into her mouth. 

Flavour and warmth seemed to fill the room. Rose closed her eyes. A bit sweet, a bit sour, a hint of…. Something. She never really had the right words for Rey’s pies.

“Okay that is your masterpiece.”

Rey laughed, walking to the broom closet, “You say that every time.”

“That one has to be the best.”

Rose washed off the fork and put it back in the bin. She liked to hold onto that feeling of calm of everything in its place for as long as she could. 

The back door of the kitchen swung open.

“Tearing the place apart already?” said Poe with a grin, eyeing Rey’s mess on the floor.

Rose rolled her eyes, “Morning Poe.”

“Whatcha got for me today?” he called towards the broom closet where Rey made a bit of a racket wrestling out a mop and a broom.

“Raspberry surprise,” groaned Rey, hauling out a bucket. 

While Rey and Rose were in their server uniforms with buttons and lapels and skirts, Poe wore black jeans and a stained white shirt. An equally stained apron hung around his hips. He said he left the tongs in the side pocket of his apron for “quick draw”. No one would know he was the owner of the diner just by looking at him. In Rose’s freshly washed apron were two notepads, two 0.5 black pens, $6.00 in small change, and a clean wiping cloth for quick spills. The cloth never made it through the day in her apron pocket. 

“It doesn’t sound like a good surprise,” Poe muttered.

“It’s heaven,” Rose said conclusively. She knew Poe liked poke at them a bit, but she was feeling protective of Rey. Rey’s landlord always made her do all kinds of crazy chores on top of her full time job for so called ‘rent discounts’. It would be another long day for her and Rose both. They all pretty much worked overtime every day. Such was the service industry; there was good money to be made, if you worked your ass off for it. 

Rose was okay with the work, so long as Poe kept paying them. Hotheaded and tough as he could be, Poe always paid time and a half for overtime and never commented on the amount of hours they worked. It was the reason Rey was making pies before the sun came up, it was the reason Rose was about to work a twelve hour shift. By her calculations, she’d be in shape to afford all four years tuition at the top mech engineering university by the end of next year. Then she’d be launched, then she’d find something that finally made sense. 

It was opening time. 

Click click click whoosh, Poe turned on the stove. Rey picked up three finished raspberry pies and Rose followed her out into the seating area with the last. The morning light was more yellow now, the diner in its full colour. In moments like this, she could almost feel a simpler life with juke boxes and neon. It wasn’t her life, she had to live here and now. Rose took a breath, unlocked the front door, and flipped the sign. Open. 

And just like that, the day became just what she needed it to be; just like any other day. 

The first patrons were usually the truckers and road-trip families. They wanted quick hearty breakfasts and chipper smiles. The diner was in a small pitstop of a town just off the highway. People were heading out on the road no matter the time of year, not many came to stay. Rose shoved a black coffee at Rey in the brief lull between the early risers and regulars. 

Around 9am it was time for the regulars. Older folks with newspapers settled into vinyl seats and gossip filled the counter space. They wanted small talk and personal touches. Rose had a list she kept in one of her notebooks of what each of them ordered, just to watch them light up as she handed them exactly what they wanted without them having to ask. 

“Order up!,” Poe said a hundred times.

“How’ya been?” Rose said a hundred times.

“Come again!” Rey said a hundred times. 

Rose watched the pie slices in the display case disappear with each swing of the clock hand. Her feet didn’t hurt like they used to when she first started, they just got numb as the day went on. She liked it better that way.

At exactly 11 o’clock, Rose went to the back, pulled a broom out of the closet, and went to stand by the door. At exactly 11:02am an orange tabby cat tried to dart into the door after a brunch group. Rose welcomed the group to pick any seat and blocked the cat with the broom until the door slid shut. The cat glared at her, she glared back. Then it slunk away, likely to get into the dumpsters out back. 

They named it BeeBee because Poe had threatened to get a bb-gun if the cat ever got into the kitchen. Rose had been there on the day when it got as far as the cash register. It had been messy, no one got out unscathed. She liked to think BeeBee at least had healthy respect for them now. She was pretty sure Finn still had the scratch scars on his hands. 

Noon rolled around and Finn came to join her out front while Rey went to masterfully create the afternoon pies in the kitchen. He gave her a quick fistbump and a nod when they passed each other behind the counter. They’d have time to chat between the lunch and dinner rush. For now, it was time to move. 

A coffee and bacon and eggs and two hashbrowns and the pancakes but no syrup and oooh is that raspberry pie, yes I’ll have that. Rose scribbled it all on her notepad. Her shoes didn’t squeak on the linoleum anymore. It was this time in the day Rose found it really easy to tune out the people and run on autopilot. Poe yelled orders as they came and she and Finn were a well oiled machine, moving around tables and back behind the counter for the lunch rush. She barely had time to think, getting plates and cups from point A to B. 

Except. Her feet paused on their way to deliver an eggs benedict to table six.

Who were _they_?

In the doorway, two tall men shook dust off their coats. It was way too hot for coats, she thought, almost the end of June. The bigger one had dark hair hanging loose around his jaw and a long black trench coat over a black dress shirt and grey slacks. He looked around with a cold kind of interest, as if the diner had something to prove to him. 

The other had neatly arranged rust hair and a grey peacoat resting over his arm. He wore a pristine white dress shirt and black pants. He, on the other hand, looked around as if he knew everything there was to know about the people and the place, and didn’t think much of it. Rose was immediately reminded of the tabby cat. She did not like the tabby cat. She did not much like this man either. She let herself narrow her eyes at the pair until the orange haired one spotted at her. 

Rose quickly plastered on a welcoming smile and called to them above the din, “Welcome to Resistance Diner, the table by the window over there is all yours, I’ll be with you in just a sec!”

She didn’t wait to see their response, already on her way to drop off the eggs benny. She saw strangers all the time, it was part of her job. But something about them didn’t sit right with her. Maybe it was the posture, she thought to herself, they stood too straight. 

“So,” she said stepping to the edge of table eight by the window, “can I get y’all started with something to drink?”

“Coffee, black,” said the dark haired one, still looking around the space critically and not at Rose at all. 

The other one was entranced by his phone, not even a grunt in her direction. 

“Sir?” Rose said, an edge creeping into her voice. She cared more about the time-wasting than the rudeness, really. 

“Hmm?” he said, finally glancing up from his phone. It was a blackberry. This guy couldn’t have been older than twenty-eight, but his phone made him seem like he was fifty. 

“Something to drink?” she prompted. She internally cringed at her customer service voice. It grated on her ears when she knew she was faking. 

The man did have quite nice eyes, actually, kind of blue, kind of green. But then he said, “Water,” without changing his expression, immediately going back to his archaic phone, and suddenly she didn’t care what colour his eyes might be or if he was handsome in a way she liked; clean cut and untouchable. 

“Alrighty,” she forced the cheeriness, “back in two shakes.”

She checked in on a few tables in her section before she got around to the corner table again. She overheard a bit of their conversation as she approached.

“Kylo, you can’t be serious. The resale value for property like this is practically negative. You’d be throwing money away just to develop it,” the ginger guy said. Rose noticed he had a British accent, but it was sharper than Rey’s, like it had distinct points and valleys. 

The other man fixed a cold glare on him, “I think it’s worth a closer look, Hux.”

He said the name offhandedly, like he wasn’t speaking to a friend. Rose reached their table and their conversation cut off abruptly. She placed the drinks down and flipped open her notepad.

“Something to eat?” she prompted, resisting the urge to tap her foot in impatience. 

“One poached egg and buttered toast,” said Hux. As she jotted down the order, she felt his attention land on her face, slide away, then return. She purposefully ignored him, turning to the other man. He looked through the menu as if he was caught off guard by the question.

“Would you like to hear our specials?” she said, taking a bit of pity on him. 

He nodded once and Rose rattled off the options automatically. 

“I’ll get the club sandwich, the pie any good?” 

Rose smiled, genuine this time, “The best.”

The man, Kylo, didn’t smile back, “Okay I’ll get that.”

“Comin’ right up!” Rose chirped and hustled to the back. It didn’t escape her notice that the Hux guy watched her the whole way. Weird. 

Finn gave her a ‘what’s up look’ as they passed each other behind the counter again. Rose conspicuously jerked her head to the corner table and rolled her eyes. Finn grimaced sympathetically. They didn’t get that many rude customers. In their small town it wasn’t worth it to be rude to anyone you’d see again. That made the people who were less than polite stick out. The ginger guy was still looking at her. He spun in his chair to face the other man when she caught him. Rose shook it off and went to tack up their orders. 

She got back into the rhythm of the afternoon easily. Her legs carried her from one table to the next, passing out card machines and clearing plates with a smile. The interaction to drop off the food at the corner table was blessedly short, she didn’t even try to hear any of their conversation. 

A little while later, the dark haired one flagged her down from across the room. Rose straightened her apron and went to check it out. 

“Wh-”

“Who made this pie?” the Kylo guy demanded, cutting her off. His plates were cleaned off so he must not have hated it too much. Rose glanced at Hux to see what this was about, but he just quirked up the corner of his mouth and shrugged. No help then. 

“We have an in-house pie master, they’re made fresh every day,” Rose said defensively. 

“That was the best fucking thing I have ever had, is he here?”

“Who?”

“The cook.”

Rose did not cross her arms because she was a professional, “One of our servers makes the pies.”

“Send them over,” he ordered. 

Rose glared at him, just a bit, but she twisted her mouth into a smile, “Sure thing.”

The afternoon lull was fast approaching so Rose didn’t have to dodge as many people on her way back to the kitchen. She eased open the door and peered in. Rey and Poe were chatting by the stove as Rey tied on her serving apron. 

“Psst, Rey!” Rose called into the kitchen. Rey looked up and Rose let the door swing shut behind her.

“What’s it now, Rosie? The kitchen is for emergencies only,” said Poe testily.

“Yeah,” Rose said sarcastically, “You look like you’re real hard at work, chef.”

Poe flipped a spatula in the air and caught it in one hand as if to prove her point. 

“Do you need help on the floor?” Rey asked. Rose shook her head.

“No, it’s chill, but this guy wants to talk to you about the pie.”

“My pie?” Rey looked puzzled. Rose knew Rey got compliments all the time, but people didn’t usually drag her out of the kitchen to do it. That was the kind of stuff for fancy restaurants in the movies, Rose thought. 

“He liked it, don't worry,” Rose said, worried, “He’s the big fella at table eight with the ginger guy… they’re first order.”

First order was their code for people from the city who walked fast and didn’t tip. Rey squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. Nobody in their town liked first order. Rose saw a glint of determination in her eyes as she stepped out onto the floor. Oh boy, she really hoped it was just a compliment. 

Rose slid in behind the counter next to Finn to watch. Poe poked his head out through the plate window connecting to the kitchen. There were only two other tables full at this time of day, and both were mid meal. 

“What’s going on,” Finn leaned closer to whisper. 

“That guy wanted to talk to Rey about the pie,” Rose explained. 

“Why?” Finn’s puzzled expression was the mirror of Rey’s just a minute ago. 

Rose shrugged, “No clue.”

At first the interaction seemed to be going okay. The guy said something to Rey, looking earnest about it. Rey ducked her head and said something back. The ginger guy fiddled with his blackberry. Then the dark-haired guy said something else. Rose couldn’t hear what it was, but she saw Rey’s spine stiffen from across the diner. Rey spat back a retort and spun on her heel. 

“Wait! I-” the guy tried to stand to follow her, but his companion pulled him back down to his seat and muttered something in his ear. 

Rey walked straight back through the doors of the kitchen. Rose heard the back door slam too. She and Finn looked at each other with round eyes. 

“You go,” she said, “I still have to get them to pay.”

Ugh, that would probably be less pleasant than it was already going to be. She’d give table eight a few minutes to get their act together. Finn patted her once on the shoulder and went to follow Rey. 

Finn and Rey went way back. Apparently they’d met on the bus to Resistance, BC. Rey had been going to move somewhere more affordable after her mother died and Finn had been going to find work on Phasma’s farm. Neither of them had known how hard the life they were going towards would be. All through it though, they had stayed friends, sneaking out after dark to go walking, holding each other up. Rose knew friendships like that were forged in fire, she knew Rey would need Finn right now too. 

Rose had also bumped into Finn by chance. She’d met him at the one bus stop in town. He had seemed down on his luck and a bit skittish, to be honest. The bus had been late so she just started talking. She’d told him about how excited she was to go visit her sister in the city and asked him where he was headed. When he’d told her how awful Phasma was treating her workers and how he didn’t know what he was going to do, she had decided right then and there to make things right. He was out of his place, and she knew a perfect spot where he could go; the empty space Poe was looking to fill. Finn started at the diner the next week. 

They’d come a long way, the three of them. Heck even Poe had softened up a bit since Finn signed on. 

Now, Poe wasn’t watching through the food slot anymore, probably gone back to juggling whisks or whatever it was that he did back there. Rose finished wiping down the counter and printed out the check for table eight. 

The Kylo guy was actually sulking. Rose couldn’t believe it. He stared out the window with his shoulders slumped. The other one seemed to be frustratedly trying to coax some conversation out of him.

“So? Should I contact the owner?”

There was no response.

“I agree, this place is best left to rot,” Hux said haughtily. 

“I didn’t say that,” Kylo mumbled. Rose couldn’t quite grasp what exactly they were talking about, but she didn’t much appreciate the being left to rot business. 

“Your check,” she said, placing it on the table. Hux looked up at her and smiled, it didn’t seem like it was a natural expression for him. It made him look warmer, though, like he might be kind.

“Finally,” he said. Nevermind. 

Rose placed the card machine on the table with a thud, curious who would be paying. Hux picked it up and efficiently punched in numbers. He removed his card and passed it back to Rose. 

He looked up at her, their fingers brushed, she looked down at him. She’d never been looked at like that before. His eyes were keen, like they saw every detail before them, like he saw her for what she was. Rose’s chest got a strange tight feeling. She took the card machine and ripped off their receipt, keeping the diner’s copy. 

“Have a good day,” she said, instead of the usual ‘come again’. 

“You as well, Rose,” Hux said. Her heart leapt into her throat and for a minute she thought he actually read her mind. His eyes flicked to her chest and back up, eyebrow raised. Right. Her name tag. 

She waited until the front door shut behind them to check the receipt. The jingle of the door closing was music to her ears. She hoped they did not ‘come again’.

She almost walked into a misplaced chair when she read the receipt. He had tipped 200%.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's roll!  
> Big shout out to my gremlin queen for making that mood board! Sometimes I forget that there are actual actors who actually portray the characters, absolutely wild!  
> (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･:


	2. The Negative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose's favourite customers come back to be both friendly and fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter titles correspond to Rose's story arc, just in case anyone is wondering where the actual plot of Waitress went.
> 
> _Waitress Plot has left the chat_

“You don’t get it Poe, they were total jerks!”

“They could be bank robbers for all I care if they keep tipping like that.”

“Can’t you just tell them to leave?”

“If I kick out everyone you don’t like we’d be left with Judy from the post office and Gregg from Papa John’s. They gonna cover your paycheck, Rosie?”

Rose put her hands on her hips. He had a point there. 

“Still, it’s weird that they came back,” she shot back through the food window. Poe crossed his arms, safe in the kitchen, and jerked his head towards the end of the counter. End of discussion. Fine. 

Rose didn’t bother to pull up a smile as she turned back to the counter. 

It had been two days since the whole raspberry pie incident. Two days was enough time to feel like things were back to normal. Two days where Rose had only felt things she could explain. 

Apparently the other day Kylo had given Rey an enthusiastic compliment which she appreciated then followed it up with a comment about what a girl like her was doing in a shithole town which she did not appreciate. Rey had retorted that shittiness is in the eye of the beholder and went to cool off in the back alley before she said something that could really get her fired. Not that Poe would ever get rid of her.

Today, Kylo stared mournfully at the pie display. It was filled with key lime pie, one of Rey’s more spiteful creations. It still tasted like angels singing, but Rey only made it when she was feeling bitter about something.

Beside him, Hux looked deeply displeased to be in the diner at 8:30am. He glared into the black and white photo of the diner back in the 50’s. Rose found it easier to approach when his face was twisted into a sneer, there was none of that confusing gentleness on the surface. It was easier this way. 

“What d’y’all want?” she in a sigh. Rey had gone to restock the coffee filters as soon as they came in, but they sat down in Rose’s morning section anyway. Regardless, she had other tables to serve and wasn’t particularly excited to wait on them hand on foot. Well she was a waitress, but still. 

“Aren’t you charming in the morning,” Hux drawled sarcastically. Rose’s hackles raised. 

“Shouldn’t you be looking for someplace else to stink up?”

One side of his mouth pulled up in a kind of humourless smile, “Excellent question.”

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. What was his game? He clearly wanted to leave, he wasn’t from here and he didn’t seem like the type to stop on the way through. She didn’t like that she didn’t know. 

“Is Rey working?” asked Kylo suddenly. Rose turned her suspicions on him.

“Why do you wanna know?”

“I need to apologize,” he said earnestly. Huh, she wouldn’t have expected that from him. He seemed much more like a kick-a-person-when-they’re-down kind of guy. 

“Well that’s just a shame because she’s not-”

“It’s alright Rose.”

She spun to find Rey had snuck up behind her. They exchanged a significant look. Rey nodded in a resigned kind of way, she’d deal with it. Rose shrugged and stepped aside, she was sure Rey could handle herself. 

Rose ignored them for the better part of fifteen minutes, running coffee and greeting old-timers. Then she noticed the sugar on the counter was out of place. Hux had moved to the opposite side of the counter from Kylo, taking up his phone again. But the sugar holder beside his spot was way off centre. If someone sat down beside him they wouldn’t be able to reach. It just wasn’t right. Rey, still behind the counter, still speaking guardedly to Kylo, wouldn’t notice the sugar out of place. 

Rose set down the dishes she had just cleared in the bin by the kitchen and stepped behind the counter to quickly fix the sugar. There. In its spot. 

A hand moved it back. 

Rose put it back in its spot. 

“You’re spending an awful lot of effort to put it in the wrong place,” said Hux.

“I think I know where the sugar goes in my own diner, thank you,” Rose retorted.

“You’re the owner? Well I never would have guessed,” Hux said sarcastically. 

“I’m not- the sugar goes here, so both people can reach,” Rose explained, flustered. 

Hux dragged it to the centre of his spot, “But this makes more sense for me to reach it now, and I’m sitting here.”

“You don’t even have a drink to put it in!”

“And whose fault is that? Last I checked this is a dining establishment.”

“Fine, what’ll it be today Mr. 2005?” she asked, glancing at his phone. Hux slid his phone into his pocket quickly, cheeks going a bit red.

“Nothing for me, I’m just waiting for my colleague.”

Rose snorted, smiling in spite of herself, “Loitering, classy.”

“Hey! What’s all this yip-yapping?” Poe hollered through the food window, “I got a tower of pancakes Mr. Fladerman’s been eyeing just about all morning.”

Rose and Rey both hustled to get back to the tables of the actual paying customers. Hux did not go back to sitting with Kylo, but Rose did see the two of them talking to Poe through the food window. They must be starved for company if they were trying to talk to him before noon. Although, she didn’t blame them for wanting to talk to someone else if they were travelling together.

True to his word, Hux didn’t order a single thing, even when Kylo cleaned off three plates of key lime pie. However, he didn’t take out his phone either, instead peering disdainfully through one of the newspapers left for customers to read. Rose was pretty sure that one was from 1976. She imagined him reading about the Beatles' latest hit and laughed to herself.

“How was the pie?” she asked, sliding the check across the counter towards Kylo. 

He actually looked at the ceiling deamily, “Fucking rocked my world.”

“Put that on our yelp page,” she said as she processed his payment. A chuckle came from the other end of the counter, but she didn’t acknowledge it. 

Rose waited until she had walked away from Kylo to check the receipt. She frowned a bit to see that he didn’t tip at all. Hux caught her eye and smirked as if he’d known that’d be what she’d find. She was once again unsettled about how much he noticed. How much he noticed her. She felt her face heated and she hurried out from behind the counter.

“Have a good one,” she called behind her.

“Fat chance of that now,” Hux muttered back. 

She let his cryptic comment slide off her shoulders and picked up the water pitcher for another tour of the diner. She didn’t need Poe to tell her she needed to get back to work.

The stools at the counter were empty by the time she’d refilled the last glass. She put the sugar back in its spot.

An odd hollowness grew in her chest that she hadn’t felt in a long time, she couldn’t quite place the feeling. It tugged at her brain for the rest of the day. There were all kinds of things she didn’t understand in the world, but she’d thought at least she understood herself. 

At 11:02am, she stopped BeeBee from slinking in behind a high school date with the newspaper from 1976.

It was a Friday so they closed up at 9pm. No one really came in after 8:30pm so Rose, Finn, and Poe finished up right on time. Rey had gone home an hour earlier, it wasn’t busy enough to have three of them on the floor. 

Poe locked the front door and cracked his back. Rose saw Finn’s eyes drift down to the patch of exposed skin on Poe’s abdomen as his shirt lifted. She looked away. 

“Any plans tonight?” Rose said to break the tension in the night air. 

“Yeah, Rey and I are going to the bar later. You guys want to come?” the question was for both of them, but he was only looking at Poe. Rose rolled her eyes. 

Finn’s crush had been painfully obvious since his first day at the diner. He’d been chatting with Rose about his past job as a busboy in the city when Poe had walked out of the kitchen to check on the daily special chalkboard. Finn had cut Rose off mid sentence to introduce himself to Poe, stumbling over his words and smiling wide. She didn’t blame him, Poe was that kind of rugged handsome that looked best in rumpled shirts and worn in jeans, and he only wore those. Poe had smiled back, cracked a joke about getting on his good side, and vanished back into the kitchen. Finn had essentially melted against the counter when the kitchen door swung shut. Yeah, there was no mistaking it, he was done for. 

“No that’s okay Finn, thanks for asking,” she said pointedly. She deduced he was trying to ask out Poe in a subtle kind of way. Finn shot her an apologetic look.

Poe shook his head, “Nah, I gotta make some calls. Those fancy guys at the counter put an offer on the diner.”

Rose’s head whipped towards him so fast she thought she might have pulled something.

“What do you mean they put an offer on the diner?”

Poe shrugged, “The pie guy's some bigshot developer. He even brought in a realtor to appraise it beforehand. It was a pretty hefty offer,” Poe looked a bit pained when he said it.

“You can’t sell! What are they gonna do to the diner?” Rose’s voice rose an octave. 

It was so goddamn typical. All that talk she’d overheard from those two about the diner hadn’t been just idle chatter, they were planning on taking it. Self-possessed men like Hux could never be what they seemed, there always had to be some kind of trick. Rose felt a bit sick thinking she’d even had mixed feelings about him in the first place.

Poe stuffed his hands in his pockets, “Relax Rosie, I’m not gonna sell. They were talking about putting some heli-skiing base on the spot, tearing the whole place down.”

Finn sputtered, “Who’d want to go heli-skiing here? No one in Resistance even goes regular skiing.”

“Eh, apparently there’s some nice glaciers just over the Leia-Luke twin peaks. Doesn’t matter, cuz I’m keeping the diner,” Poe said definitively. 

“That’s good to hear,” Finn said, “Can’t say I’m gonna rest easy tonight though.”

Poe laughed and punched him in the shoulder, “You’re going out, man! You’re gonna get drunk and sleep like a baby, mark my words.”

Rose saw Finn gulp at the physical contact. His laugh was a bit forced, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Anyway,” Poe said, “I’m gonna head. Have fun. Show up to work tomorrow.”

He gave them a hard look as if that was something either of them had ever forgotten to do. Rose knew it was all for show. He liked to pretend that he was in charge and they let him. It just worked better that way. 

Poe walked off into the night with a wave. Finn stared after him. 

“C’mon Finn, you’re going out! You’re gonna have a bad time if you’re thinking about him. There’s other guys in town for you,” Rose said with false optimism.

Finn gave her a sardonic look, “There aren’t. I checked.” They started walking towards the neighbourhood where they both lived. “Besides, I wouldn’t want anyone but him.”

Rose patted his shoulder sympathetically, “I guess there’s no helping that.”

They parted ways under the orange glow of a street light. Finn turned left to get ready for his night out with Rey. Rose turned right to her empty apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (ಥ﹏ಥ)  
> Always gotta be a negative, huh.


	3. When He Sees Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux takes the grand tour. The diner serves dark dark chocolate pie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hux POV, get into it!  
> He's not our main bitch, but he does have funny little goblin man energy, I simply could _not_ leave that alone.  
> Enjoy!

Hux was having the most unfortunate evening. 

To begin with, he was still in Resistance. He’d thought Kylo would want to drive in, buy a property or decide that it wasn’t worth the time, and they’d be back in their respective offices the next day. He’d felt a deep current of embarrassment paying for yet another night at the one quaint motel in the town. 

Resistance had that quality he knew Kylo would be interested in, that’s why they were there in the first place. The green mountains towered over the town like old gods, jagged and untamed. The main highway passed through the centre of Resistance, making it only four hours from the city, three if Hux was driving. The town was established enough to support an influx of tourists, but had plenty of space for resort development. It was perfect for Kylo’s plans. Hux hated it. 

He missed his downtown penthouse. He missed his own bed and his clean socks. Hux could already feel a tension headache coming on from people stopping him in the street to say hello. And Kylo refused to leave. 

In fact, they had visited near every property in this town. Hux appraised each site, Kylo offered an ungodly amount of money, and every single one turned them down. Did people really love living in this backwoods campground enough to say no to that much money? Hux couldn’t fathom it. 

Only one landowner had seemed somewhat open to their offers. The farm down the road a little ways was run by an impressively capable blonde woman named Phasma. Hux had seen the look in her eye when Kylo named the price. That kind of hunger was something they could work with. He’d already drafted up the contracts. 

With one bite on the line, Hux had thought they’d head back straight away. But no. Kylo had waxed poetic about some woman of his dreams with the pie, Hux hadn’t really been listening to be honest, and he demanded to stay one last night. As Kylo was technically his client, Hux had slunk to the motel reception to procure their rooms for one more night. The motelier had silently raised her eyebrows at him. Hux sighed heavily back, he couldn’t believe he was asking for another night either. 

And here he was going for a walk like it was the literal 1940’s because his only connection had gone on a wild goose chase, there was no more work for him today, and there was nothing on TV. It would be reasonable for him to turn in for the night just after dark on a Friday, right?

He walked the tidy streets of a neighbourhood. It had evergreen trees in every yard and steeply roofed homes to accommodate the snow. He shuddered to think of how much snow they must get here. There was a cutting chill in the air as the sun hid behind the mountains and it was only June. 

The sky had gone that bruised blue of encroaching night. As he passed one house with stacked log walls like a cabin but with big windows, he heard a terrible racket. 

Light and noise came from the attached garage. There was a clang of metal on metal, glare of a halogen lamp, and screeching of electric guitars. The song was something about not liking someone’s girlfriend. 

Perhaps because he was bored to death, Hux took a few steps up the driveway to see what all the commotion was about. 

In the garage there was an ancient looking mercedes with rust on the edge of its propped up hood. Under the hood there was a figure inspecting the innards of the car. A tool box lay open at their feet. He couldn’t tell what kind of person they might be due to their loose grey coveralls. Although, they were smaller than any mechanic he’d met.

“What model is that?” Hux called up the driveway. 

This town must have given him altitude sickness, what was he doing trying to talk to randoms? He should just keep walking and pray for Kylo to get some sense by tomorrow morning. 

The figure narrowly missed hitting the back of their head as they stood up. They had black hair pulled into a low bun. They looked kind of like-

They turned around. It was indeed Rose from the diner, clutching a wrench in her fist, looking a sight displeased to see him. 

“1985 Mercedes SL,” she said, brandishing the wrench, “Don’t come any closer.”

Hux put his hands up and stepped back instinctually. 

When he was younger, it used to bother him that people assumed he was dangerous when he was just walking. That girls on their own would cross the street if they saw him coming. Now, having paid a bit more attention and having actually talked to one or two women, he didn’t feel so hard-done-by. There was a reason he hadn’t seen any women walking the streets after dark tonight. He had no desire to contribute to that kind of fear.

“Sorry,” he said, “I was just walking by. I’m not trying to steal your car. ”

“Yeah well you can just keep on walking,” she said, clearly trying to intimidate him with a glare. 

“Although,” he said, still keeping his distance, “I might mention that your fuse box could use some repair.”

“First of all, I don’t remember asking, second of all it’s fine,” Rose said confidently. However, Hux caught her eyes flicking down to the fuse box. She must have seen it too. 

Hux wasn’t a huge car bloke, but he had just taken his own Mercedes into the shop for that exact issue. He always stayed with the mechanics when they worked on his cars, making sure they felt encouraged to avoid mistakes. The corners of the fuse box on her car looked disjointed in just the same way his had. 

“I’m sure your skills are perfectly adequate, I just happen to know how to fix your problem,” Hux said loftily. 

He could see her weighing the options. Her eyelashes fluttered as her eyes roamed the engine. It was quite fascinating to see someone’s thought process played out so physically. He had an irrational thought to move closer so he could see her better. 

“Fine, but if you try anything, the Flendersons are on the other side of this wall.”

Hux smiled, hoping it was charming instead of leery, “I assure you, I’m at your mercy here. You’re the one with the weapons.”

Rose looked at her wrench in her hand and the corners of her eyes crinkled. He’d thought she might have liked that idea. 

Hux approached slowly. When she didn’t in fact throw the wrench at his head, he leaned over the engine of her Mercedes. It was most certainly not his sports car. Rust and grease and dirt filled every crevice and bend. He grimaced, placing his hands on the fuse box lid just like the mechanic had done to his. There was some twisting that he had to do.

“Are you sure you’re not here to sabotage my work?” Rose said skeptically. A few strands of hair fell in Hux’s eyes and he blew them out of the way.

“Please, I don’t think this car needs my help with that,” he blurted. He winced, unable to stop his critique, it was truly in abysmal shape. 

“Hey! She’s the Flendersons’, watch your mouth.”

Hux torqued the lid into place with a thunk. Perfect. 

He looked over at Rose as he pushed back from under the hood, gauging her reaction. 

He’d not thought lovely was a term that could be applied to someone wearing industrial coveralls and a streak of grease on their face. Yet here she was, dark eyes sparkling, cheeks flushed pink. Lovely. 

She gave him an arch look. He’d been staring. 

“What are you doing fiddling around with a car that’s not yours?” he asked, trying not to sound accusing. 

She tossed the wrench into the toolbox with a clatter, “It’s a side gig, more of a hobby really. People pay me to try to fix their cars as a last resort before the mechanic. The closest one’s an hour and a half away.”

Hux shuddered. He’d passed the town before this one. He’d thought it was impossibly small, and then they’d stumbled into Resistance. 

“Just because it's small doesn’t mean it’s bad,” Rose chided, likely seeing some look of distaste on his face, “I just don’t think you’re the right person for this place.”

“Don’t you mean you don’t think this place isn’t right for me?”

“I said what I said.”

They stared at each other for a moment, at odds. There was this thing he’d felt in the diner, a kind of push and pull that he tended to follow around. It wasn’t a chase he was after, not really. More like he wanted to know if she had a spine, if she could stand up for herself and her beliefs. He didn’t want someone to fight, he wanted someone to stand up with him. He hadn't been looking for it here. 

Rose cleared her throat and bent to check Hux’s work. He wiped the dirt from his hands on his pants, wishing he had brought jeans instead of his business clothes. 

“If this works, I guess I’ll have to give you a cut of my check,” Rose joked as she straightened up, apparently pleased with the fix. 

Hux decided to do something he hadn’t done in a while. 

“I’ll take 60% for services rendered, let me know,” he said. He deftly slid his business card into the breast pocket of her coveralls, turned on his heel, and walked away. 

He was glad that she didn’t yell after him, he didn’t want to know whether she was disgusted or pleased. Not knowing meant he could tell himself that he’d taken a chance and the rest was up to her. His phone was always set to full ring. 

He started walking back to the motel, darkness having finally set in. Without the pollution of the city, the night sky was brilliant. 

***********

Saturday was Rose’s day to sleep in. Finn and Rey opened the diner so she didn’t have to be there until 11am. She had one day off, Tuesdays, but she filled it with her odd jobs and chores. Saturday morning was her time to relax.

Rose did not feel relaxed. Her encounter with Hux last night played in her mind. She kept twisting it around to try to see what had actually happened to go from threatening him with a wrench to standing close in front of the car and thinking about moving closer. 

When he’d stood back up to face her after popping the fuse box into place, his hair had fallen over his forehead, there was grease on his hands. He’d looked more like the kind of person she could reach, the kind of person she might try to. She’d wanted to fix his hair. She’d wanted to muss it up more. 

Rose drank her morning tea and glared out the window. It was a misty summer morning, fog clung to the treetops casting everything blue-grey. Her apartment was essentially a tiny suite nestled in the top of an A-frame chalet. It had everything she needed, nothing more, and a beautiful view of the town. She liked the mist, it had been too hot lately. 

She tried to avoid looking at her corkboard today. The business card was tacked up neatly beside other phone numbers for her sister’s work and her doctor. _Armitage Hux_. It was a big kind of name, a statement. She wondered why he never introduced himself properly if he’d liked her enough to give his number. Did he want to be called by his first name? It didn’t really matter, she wasn’t going to call him. He was confusing and she didn’t like things she didn’t understand. 

To pass the morning, she watched a nature documentary about antelopes and read a little bit in her second hand mechanical engineering textbook. It had been a while since she’d been in high school, Rose knew she would have to catch up when she finally went to get her degree. 

She ate her sandwich as she walked to work, smiling and waving back at the people she passed on the way. Resistance felt as comfortable as an old sweater. 

The first thing she noticed when she got out on the floor at the diner was the pie display. Dark dark chocolate pie. Rey was serving tables, looking a bit dazed, but still functioning, Rose would have written it off as sleep deprivation if it weren’t for the dark dark chocolate pie. 

She grabbed Finn by the elbow and dragged him behind the counter when his section settled down a bit. 

“What happened last night?” she whispered at him. Finn’s lips pulled tight, eyes darting to Rey and back. “C’mon, I can see the pie. Should I ask her instead?”

“No!” he whispered back, “Trust me, she does not want to talk about it.”

“So?” Rose waited expectantly, mentally listing things she had to do to catch up for the time they were wasting. 

“We went out to the cantina, we were just supposed to have a few drinks, maybe dance a bit, then leave.”

“What went wrong?”

“The first order guy showed up.”

For a second, she thought he was talking about Hux and her heart crawled into her throat.

“Really?”

“Yeah, so that big guy was, like, super scary, but Rey walked right up to him and told him to get lost. We’d had like four tequila shots each by that point. The next thing I knew they were on the dance floor together,” Finn recounted. 

Rose’s first feeling was relief. It wasn’t Hux, it was Kylo. Then she felt angry that she felt relieved. He was a stranger, she shouldn’t care. 

“Is that it?” she asked. It wasn’t that bad, maybe there’d be some rumours about Rey going around, but that was nothing new. Last year there was a rumour that the diner was a front for money laundering because of how much money Poe made. Turns out people were just willing to pay extra for Rey’s pies and the customer service. And having four people on staff, including himself, really cut back on expenses. 

Finn shook his head, “No there’s more. Some lumber guy tried to cut in and the first order guy started a fight. Rey broke it up by tackling him to the ground, I have no idea how she did that still, man’s built like a linebacker. I was straight up not having a good time by that point. Shelly at the bar gave me two free pity drinks. I tried to find Rey again after that, but she totally disappeared and stopped answering her phone. The first order guy was gone too.”

“So do you think…?” Rose said nodding her head to the dark dark chocolate pie. 

Finn rubbed a hand over his face, sighing, “Yeah I think. But Poe said they were leaving today. I bet they’re already gone.”

Rose frowned. She hadn’t been expecting them to stay forever, but she had almost been looking forward to seeing Hux looking miserable in the morning light of the diner again. Although it was definitely for the best that he was gone, she could go back to feeling the things she knew.

She looked over at Rey. She didn’t seem particularly sad or downtrodden. She laughed at a joke one of their old regulars told them every morning about being the apple of his pie. 

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Rose asked quietly.

Finn scoffed, “Rey? I’m pretty sure she’s bulletproof. She’ll be fine.”

Rose wasn’t so convinced. Rey was strong, but she left her heart out on her sleeve. A person could get hurt like that, Rose liked hers better locked up tight. Poe yelled an order for table three and they got back to work. 

Around 3pm, a group of guys from the mill came in. Rose chatted with them about the weather and how hungry they must be from their hard work. They were about her age and the one with brown eyes in the seat at the end of the table smiled widely at her. She smiled back out of politeness. Poe was right most of the time, being cold to customers shrunk her tips faster than throwing them down the drain. 

When the group left, there was a number and a name on the back of a napkin at the seat at the end of the table. Rose smiled fondly at the familiar feeling of indifference she felt. She had been worried that Hux had messed with her in some way that she wouldn't be able to fix, but everything seemed to be back to normal.

"He was cute," Rey said as they wiped the tables in preparation for the dinner crowd. 

"Yeah," said Rose, "Not my type, did you see he had two different coloured socks?"

Rey laughed, "No one's ever your type. The guy from the movie theatre last week was so fit and you turned him down because he had M&M's in his popcorn."

"What kind of person puts M&M's in their popcorn? They'd just sink to the bottom then you have to eat a bunch of greasy M&M's at the end. That's just flawed logic. Why would I want a guy with flawed logic?"

Rey shrugged, going on to set out the napkins, "I suppose you wouldn't want that."

It sounded like she was agreeing with Rose, but at the same time suggesting something. Rose stored it away to mull over later.

People had hit on her at work before. She knew she was pretty in a warm and approachable kind of way, she had been told it enough by patrons over the years. She also knew that men tended to think that because she was being nice to them as her job, it meant that she wanted to date them. Every time she received a compliment or asked when she got off work, she felt the same thing.

Just like her feet, her heart was comfortably numb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're a car person and you see this, no you don't.


	4. It Only Takes a Taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose participates in town gossip. Hux does a flyby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Covering some waitress key themes, wear protection kids ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Do you think this version of Finn should participate in No Simp September? 
> 
> Lmk in the comments 
> 
> <3
> 
> -mylevelance

_4 weeks later_

The summer got warmer with each passing day. Rose barely noticed. It was the busiest time of year in Resistance. Of the road trippers heading north in their RV’s, rock climbers flocking to the mountains, and tree planters filling the swathes of forest cut down in the fall, about half of them stopped in at the Resistance Diner. 

Each day, Rose went to work, ran until she could barely think, went home, checked her bank account balance, and collapsed on her bed to do it again the next morning. She heard rumours of Phasma’s farm being torn down, which she didn’t care about. She heard rumours of Rey starting a bar fight and running off with some criminal, which she shot down whenever she could. Small towns had their charms, but gossip was not one of them. 

Rey didn’t really seem bothered, but these days they didn’t really get a chance to talk much. All of their lunch breaks were separate and everyone was practically non-verbal by the end of the day. 

The days passed much the same, having the same conversations with the same type of people. Wiping tables until they shined, delivering orders with a smile. That is until the day Finn heard a new rumour. 

“He said the construction started on the farm last week, and get this, it’s the same company as that first order guy that Rey… liked,” Finn said conspiratorially. 

Rose and Finn were wiping down the menus to prepare for the brunch crowd. They always made it a competition to see who could do the most in four minutes. Rose usually won because Poe would heckle them from the kitchen and Finn would get distracted sniping back. 

“No way. So Phasma must have been the one they bought out,” Rose mused. 

Finn’s eyebrows drew together, “Figures, she always seemed to think she was better than this place. Guess it finally got to her head. Thank god.”

“What kind of stuff are they building? I can’t imagine all that much if they were gonna try to use the diner.”

“That’s the thing,” Finn paused, glancing around, “My friend said they’re developing the whole thing. They ripped up the pastures and everything.”

“Everything?” Rose was surprised. Phasma’s farm went for acres on acres of cow pasture. Why would a heliskiing base need that much space? 

“Hey! Finn! Rosie’s kicking your ass,” Poe hollered from the food window. 

“I’m just getting warmed up!” Finn yelled back. While he was turned towards the kitchen Rose wiped three more menus. 

In the end, Rose beat him by a margin of seven. 

Rey came out with the afternoon pies. Today they were pumpkin pie, an odd choice for summer, but Rey made them when she wasn’t feeling well. Rose kept an eye on her as stacked the menus away. The last time they served pumpkin pie they’d all caught a cold a few days later. A large family with screaming kids came in, Finn went to go seat them in his section. Almost every table in his section was filled, Rose had only three tables empty in hers. The brunch rush was upon them. 

Rey put a pie into the display case, the tin clinked against the glass as she dropped it in clumsily. Rose turned at the loud sound. Rey’s face turned a shade of grey and she ran into the kitchen with a hand over her mouth. Rose chucked down the last menus, rushing after her, making sure the kitchen door didn’t swing too wide. 

“Hey! Kitchen for emergencies only!” Poe shouted. Rey ignored him, running for the tiny staff washroom by the back door. Poe threw his hands up, “Does it take two of you to piss?”

Rose fixed her with her best ‘I mean business’ look, “This is an emergency! If you’re so worried then take the food out yourself!”

Poe looked startled at her outburst, Rose pushed passed him to follow Rey. She leaned against the wall next to the closed bathroom door. The sound of retching came from inside.

“Rey? Hon? Do you need a hand?” Rose called gently through the door. When Rose was younger, her sister would take care of her when she was sick and they’d stay home from school together. It always felt way better to have someone to look after you. 

“No, that’s-”

Rey’s words cut off and there was more retching. Rose pushed open the door. Rey sat on the floor draped over the toilet bowl. Rose immediately went to hold her hair away from her face and rub her back. 

“It’s okay Rey, just breathe,” she said soothingly. 

“Sorry,” murmured Rey, not turning her head.

“Nothing to be sorry for, Finn and Poe have everything under control out front. Take your time.”

“What’s going on? Is she okay?” Finn said, popping his head through the door. Rose nodded, mouthing furiously for him to get back outfront. She couldn’t imagine how Poe was handling twenty customers and the kitchen. 

Poe poked his head in, leaning over Finn, looking concerned, “Oh shit, Rey you look bad.”

“Get out, Poe!” Rose said, waving them away. Now there was no one handling twenty customers or the kitchen.

Finn, finally catching on, turned to Poe. They were flush against the doorframe. Surprisingly he didn’t flinch or stutter, “Come on, I’ll help you run plates.”

Finn grabbed Poe by the arm and dragged him away from the bathroom. Rose tied Rey’s hair up with her spare elastic and locked the bathroom door. There, hopefully Finn wouldn’t actually break down the door to ‘check in’.

Rey seemed to be recovering, breathing heavily and tilting her head back. Rose flushed the toilet. 

“D’you wanna do the whole feet up the wall situation?” she asked gently. Rey shook her head, closing her eyes and just breathing. 

Rose was quiet for a moment. She hadn’t had the stomach flu in a long time, she got colds more often and usually in the winter. She wondered where Rey picked it up.

“Food poisoning?” she suggested after a minute. 

Rey shook her head, “I haven’t eaten anything out of the ordinary.”

“Flu?”

“I don’t think so, I don’t have a fever or a headache or anything like that.”

They went quiet again. Rose could hear the buzz of the single lightbulb overhead. There was one other thing, but she didn’t want to think about it. Rey was twenty three, one year younger than her. Rose felt like her own life hadn’t even started yet, she wouldn’t want to cancel all her plans before she even got a chance to try. 

She had to ask. “When was the last time you had your time of the month?”

Rey closed her eyes tight and clenched her hands into fists in her lap. 

“Seven weeks ago,” Rey choked out. Rose took one of Rey’s fists in her hands, rubbing a gentle circle on the back of her hand. 

“Is that… normal for you?” she asked tentatively. This could be nothing, she hoped for Rey’s sake it was just some bad eggs or something. 

Rose had been saving her money away with the intention of leaving someday. Rey had something else in mind. Her dream was to open her own pie shop right here in Resistance. But with her landlord raising her rent almost monthly, Rose was worried that she’d be stuck doing exactly this forever. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it just wasn’t right for Rey who’d had such a hard time in the city, practically on the streets. She needed a soft place to land. Another mouth to feed wouldn’t help with that. 

“No,” Rey whispered, “It’s not normal.”

And then there was that. Rose clamped down on a dismayed gasp. It wasn’t set in stone. It could be fine. It could be nothing. 

“Okay so we don’t need to sort this out right now,” Rose said, trying to sound confident, “Let’s just get you home and I’ll come by tonight. We can watch a movie or something, if you’re up for it.”

Rey nodded, “Alright. Thanks Rose.”

Rose stood up and dusted off her skirt. She helped Rey to her feet slowly. They both washed their hands. Rey scrubbed hers until they were red. 

“It’s gonna be fine, Rey. Just take it easy okay?” Rose said, still holding back her full concern. Rey nodded, straightened her skirt, and stepped out of the washroom. 

Rose frowned and followed her out. She had a bad feeling about this

**********

The next morning, the roar of thunder jarred Rose awake. She sat up in bed, strands of hair sticking to her face. It wasn’t supposed to storm today, was it?

She stumbled to the window. The sky was pale and clear. The leaves of the Norway maple out front fluttered in the gentle breeze. It didn’t look like it was even raining. But still, there was a low droning noise getting louder and louder. 

A huge black shape cast a shadow over the street. Rose flinched back from the window. A black helicopter passed low over the rooftops of Resistance. It moved slowly, as if scoping out the place. Rose couldn’t see anyone inside from its tinted windows. The helicopter made its way passed the mainstreet and beyond the edge of town. Rose watched until it was out of site. Assholes. 

It was supposed to be her day off today, she was supposed to sleep in till noon, do some chores, work on some cars, and go back to sleep. She scowled in the direction the helicopter went. They sometimes had helicopters come through in forest fire season, but they were orange and white to mark the emergency response team. Never black. 

There was no helping it now, she was up. Rose decided she could head over to the grocery store and pick up a few things just to get it out of the way. She stretched, cracking her shoulders, and went to make her morning tea. The business card still tacked to the corkboard taunted her, so she stared out the window while she ate breakfast.

She regretted her decision to wear jean shorts as soon as she stepped outside. It was an unusually humid day, making her thighs stick together as she walked. In the mountains they didn’t get that many sticky days. Rey and Finn liked the hot weather, but Rose always liked the spring better. Oh well, it was a short walk. 

The main street was busy at this time, all the shops just opening up for the day. Rose waved to Maz at the hardware store and helped Connix lift a box of new books for her store. At the grocery store, Amilyn Holdo grumbled about Poe stealing her business while she rang up Rose’s total. Those two had a long standing rivalry that started when Poe’d accidentally ordered 5,000 hamburger buns from her instead of 500 then tried to return the other 4,500. It really was his fault, but neither of them could stand to look at each other since then. Rose nodded and smiled along with whatever Holdo was saying, eager to avoid an argument. 

Holdo thankfully didn’t comment as she scanned the pregnancy test Rose picked up. Rose had gone to visit Rey last night after work and Finn came along too. They’d joked around and watched a bad rom com, for a little while everything was good. But then there was a montage where the leads got married and had a baby at the end of the movie. Rey’s eyes had gone cold and her hands curled into fists. And so Rose got the pregnancy test. 

Rose stepped out into the muggy morning. A few teenagers and retired folk strolled down the sidewalks, but one group in particular stood out. In front of the next store were four people dressed too formally for a Tuesday morning. Only the old man with the unfortunate comb-over was a stranger. The other three Rose recognized. Her stomach twisted, this was not good.

There was Kylo taking up too much space in front of the bank storefront. There was Phasma out of her plaid and denim, into a tailored black suit with a silver silk top. And there was Hux, confidently talking to the group and making wide gestures towards the bank. His hair was neatly styled up and he had on the black suit he’d had on the last time. Although, having met him, she’d bet money he had twenty of the same suit. She couldn’t hear what he was saying from her spot and his head was turned away. What were they doing back here? Why was Phasma with them? 

Rose took a step back, planning to duck back into the grocery store. Her bag tipped sideways as she moved, scattering the top layer of groceries. Apples rolled all over the sidewalk. A can of tuna hit the ground with a loud smack. 

Embarrassed, Rose hurried to gather everything. As she trapped the last rolling apple, a pair of black oxfords entered her peripheral vision. Rose put the last apple in her bag and stood, not looking up until she was at her full height. She didn’t want to look small to him. 

Hux was the same as he was a month ago. He was just as handsome up close as she remembered. She’d kind of hoped he’d get uglier before she ever saw him again. She wouldn’t feel the disturbing need to tuck her hair behind her ear and make him laugh if he looked a bit more repulsive. He wasn’t sneering in the way his mouth seemed to find natural. Hux had one eyebrow raised, looking down at the object in his hands.

Shit! It was the pregnancy test! Rose knew she shouldn’t have put it on the top of the bag, but she didn’t want it to get crushed. 

She snatched it out of his hands, “It’s not mine, not that it’s your business.”

“It’s not,” Hux agreed, raised eyebrow and smirk still in place. Rose checked over his shoulder to make sure Kylo hadn’t caught that last part. The comb-over man was talking to them both, still by the bank. 

Hux turned to follow her gaze. Then he whipped back to stare at Rose intensely. He glanced at the pregnancy, then at Rose, then back at Kylo. She didn’t like his careful scrutiny, she could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. His other eyebrow lifted and his mouth popped open. He couldn’t have figured it out that quickly, right?

“Is it Ky-”

Rose yanked him towards her by the elbow with her free arm, “Shhh! Zip it!”

Hux was close enough that she could smell his cologne. She wanted him to be stinky and gross so she could convince her brain to back away. 

“So it’s not-”

She cut him off again, “Look, whatever you think you know, unknow it. Like right now.” 

“I won’t tell, he’s not my friend and it’s not my problem,” Hux declared. Rose didn’t trust him. She glared at him suspiciously so he’d know it. “Scout’s honour,” he said, crossing his heart.

“Aren’t you British?”

“I could have been a scout,” Hux sniffed. There, he was back being snobbish and she could deal with that. 

“You have to keep this to yourself or-”

“Or what?” he challenged.

It was a great question. What did she have on a man like him? She’d researched his real estate company, not that she’d been thinking of calling or anything, she hadn’t been. Really. Moral of the story was that he had power and money which could do a lot more than her bit of grit and gumption. There was always that one thing that anyone could do; fighting dirty. 

“Or I’ll tell a bunch of reporters you ripped up a wildlife conservation area-”

“Nothing a bit of litigation can’t fix. And Ren would take the fall anyway.”

“-and poison your coffee.”

Hux barked out a startled laugh. She didn’t find it charming, she didn’t. But then she was smiling too, tucking her hair behind her ear. No! This was exactly against the plan. She schooled her features back into place, trying to seem serious. 

Rose was filled with that awful mix of good and bad she'd felt the last time they spoke. He’d tried to tear down the diner, he was entitled, he was a classist dick. But then he also looked at her like she was his favourite painting, perceptive and admiring in equal measure. Like he was looking at her right now. Like she was looking back at him. 

The moment stretched, her chest felt tight. 

“Hux, care to join us?” Kylo yelled down the sidewalk. A frustrated look pinched Hux’s features. Then a practiced calm facade fell over his face. Rose saw through it in an instant, did it really work on people?

“Just a moment,” Hux shouted back, “Connecting with the locals.”

“So now we’re connecting?” Rose joked, “You sure move fast.”

He turned back to her and said, “Believe me, Rose, if we were _connecting_ , we wouldn’t be talking nearly this much.”

And then he walked away. 

Rose was pretty sure she was gawking after him. Did he really just say that? In broad daylight in the middle of town?

Phasma turned to see where Hux had been and scoffed at Rose. She said something to Hux and put a hand on his shoulder to turn him back towards the next store. Rose tried to tell herself that she felt a surge of protectiveness because she didn’t like Phasma. Yeah. No one should be that close to that horrible lady. That’s all. 

Rose hoisted her paper bag of groceries to her hip and speed-walked the opposite direction down the street. 

She only looked back once- 

Twice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ┬┴┬┴┤ ͜ʖ ͡°) ├┬┴┬┴
> 
> Crank the denial, turn up the *pretends I do not see*, and let's get this show on the road!


	5. A Soft Place to Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose should really put damage control on her resume.

Finn and Rose stood outside the diner bathroom. It was just after close and the diner was quiet except for the sounds of Poe cursing under his breath at the dishes in the kitchen. 

“Odds?” Finn asked Rose. They stood on opposite sides of the hall, leaning on opposite walls. Rose bit her lip.

“Maybe one in three.” 

“I’ll go one in six.”

She and Finn sometimes played odds for some of the customers that came in. Odds the woman with the red nails and perfect hair would order an egg white omelette. Odds the toddler in the high chair would throw their apple juice. It wasn’t for money or anything, just something to pass the time. 

It didn’t feel like just something to pass the time right now.

Rey came out of the bathroom holding the stick gingerly. Rose held out a plate for the test and balanced it on the stairs leading to the kitchen. 

“I’ll set a timer, fifteen minutes, right?” Rose asked, opening her phone’s timer. Rey nodded. Poe dropped a pan in the kitchen and swore loudly. Finn looked to the kitchen with concern, but didn’t move from his spot. 

“You’d get some paid time off work I bet,” Rose suggested, trying to sound positive, “You can work on some new recipes.”

It was maybe not the right thing to say. Rey’s lips pursed like she was holding in a sob. Rose exchanged a freaked out look with Finn. Rey never cried. Not when customers yelled at her for getting the wrong order, not when her landlord cashed her deposit because she painted her wall blue, not when she dropped a whole tray of milkshakes on her first day. 

If Rey cried then Finn would cry and if Finn was crying then Rose would cry and then Poe would find all three of them crying and say something about taking life by the horns and Rose would have no choice but to strangle him in his own diner. 

“We’ll be right here with you,” said Finn, “I’ll totally go help you beat him up for the catharsis.”

Rey smiled weakly, “I’ll let you know. He was a perfect gentleman, but I really shouldn’t have worn that stupid red dress to the bar.”

“Hey!” Rose said, “That red dress is hot. It has done nothing but work!”

Finn gave her a sardonic look, “That’s the point, Rose.”

Oh, yeah. That red dress was super cute though. She wondered where in between sulking like a child and the bar fight Kylo’d had time to become a ‘perfect gentleman’. 

“I’m burning that dress,” Rey said, “It’s betrayed me for the last time.”

“Do you know what you’re going to do?” Rose asked gently. She knew she was pressing the issue a bit, but she was really worried for her friend. If she were in Rey’s place, she’d probably have a few melt-downs then call her sister for help.

Rey breathed deeply and scraped her hair off of her forehead, “Not the faintest.”

“If you’re… fine, then at least you don’t have to do anything at all,” reasoned Finn, “and that’s like half of the options.”

“I can’t afford a good phone plan, let alone a person,” Rey said, laughing and a bit shrill, “This is such a mess.”

“If it comes out positive, you’re moving in with me,” said Finn firmly, “I was supposed to have a roommate anyway and my landlord isn’t a total creep. It can be a place to crash, just for a bit or for good.”

“Okay… okay. I have no idea how I’d even go about moving out. Plutt has some removal fee he charges to fix any damages from moving,” Rey said dejectedly.

Finn shrugged, “So you just don’t get caught moving. We’ll be real sneaky.”

Rey nodded, smiling gratefully at Finn. Her smile slipped as she looked down at her belly, like she was trying to see inside.

“Have you thought about, you know,” Rose made a little X with her fingers. 

Rey shook her head, “I haven’t thought about anything at all except for how idiotic I was. At least I get to choose by myself.”

“And we’ll be here for you no matter what you choose,” said Finn sincerely. Rose nodded, touching Rey’s shoulder briefly. 

The image of Kylo standing outside the bank flashed through Rose’s mind. Rey probably didn’t know he was back in town. She opened her mouth to speak-

The timer went off on her phone. Rose turned it off right away, the sound of the alarm harsh in the small space. 

Rey nodded to herself, set back her shoulders, and picked up the pregnancy test. Rose and Finn peered over her shoulders. Poe poked his head around the corner at the sound of the timer. 

Rey eloquently summed up Rose’s thoughts, “Shit.”

*********

Rose realized that she’d been waiting for Hux to show up at the diner when he finally walked in at 10 minutes to 11 the next morning. He was alone, suit and tie traded out for a black shirt and jeans. She saw Rey go to greet him and intercepted her halfway.

“I got it,” she said quietly to Rey, plucking the menu out of Rey’s hands. 

"What's he doing back here?" Rey whispered back. 

Rose shrugged, "No clue." 

Rey frowned, going back to fill another round of coffees. They were just as busy as usual this morning, Rey and Rose had been running since 9am. It wouldn't feel like such a balancing act when Finn clocked in at noon. 

Hux cocked his head and regarded Rose curiously when she got to the front.

“For one?” 

“It would appear that way, yes,” Hux replied. 

Rose jerked her head for him to follow her. She sat him at the counter and slapped down the menu in front of him. He gave her a sarcastic ‘really?’ look. 

She could almost feel Poe’s eyes on the back of her head from the kitchen. She picked up a cloth and started wiping down the counter to look busy. 

“No tall, dark, and broody?” she asked. Hux looked a bit smug. 

“He’s hiding.”

“From who? Isn’t he some big shot? No reason to hide around here.”

Hux looked up at her with a conspiratorial smirk, “I think we both know.” Rose’s eyes darted to Rey and back. Hux, having caught her look nodded once, “I have a theory that he tried to take her with him. He wouldn’t stop moaning about it the whole way home. I think it was his first real rejection. He was testy about it too, on the way back yesterday. Really ruins the mood of a helicopter ride.”

One of the old folk brunch crowd waved Rose over. She took their orders, tacked it up through the food window for Poe to see, and turned back to Hux. Rose didn’t take the bait to ask about the helicopter ride, “Why are you guys even back here? Shouldn’t you be paving paradise and putting up parking lots someplace with a bit more… foot traffic?”

Hux wasn’t phased, “Kylo insisted on overseeing this project himself. It’s a new venture for his firm so I can sympathize with the anxiety. The first one is always the hardest.”

The young couple by the window waved to Rose. She printed their receipt, went to bring the machine, and turned back to Hux.

“Don’t you guys have, I don’t know, people for that kind of thing? Last we talked, you seemed glad to see the tail end of this place.”

The kid with the family in one of the centre tables started screaming about wanting ice cream. Rose went over with a gentle smile, negotiated the kid into a milkshake, tacked the order up for Poe, and turned back to Hux.

One of his eyebrows twitched and he took a long sip of the water. “As I said, it’s a new venture, it’s personal for him.”

“But not for you?” Rose found herself saying. 

He met her eyes and smiled wryly, “I’m certainly not here for the pie.”

Rose felt her expression go brittle. He wasn't back here to try to buy the diner, Poe would never sell. Couldn’t he see that? But then again, he was out of his suit, and hadn’t tried to talk to Poe yet. What else was there to be there for if not the diner and the pie?

“What’s wrong with the pie?” she asked, avoiding his intended meaning. Today the pie was blueberry bacon, a crisis pie. Still tasted better than any blueberry anything Rose had ever tried. 

A group of chattering women walked in the door. Rose went to greet them, sat them at the last empty table in her section, and turned back to Hux.

Hux squinted at her like she had asked a difficult question, “The pie's too sweet.”

“You don’t like sweets? That’s too bad,” said Rose. "Our special today is blueberry bacon, it's more of a savoury kind of pie. You might like that better." 

Hux leaned forward so they were exactly at eye level, “I know what I want, and it isn’t pie.”

Aannnd they weren't talking about food at all. Rose felt her face heat up and pushed herself up from the counter. She felt flustered. She hated feeling flustered. She hated that he made her feel off balance so easily. “Whatever you say,” she said noncommittally, eager to change the direction he was going. Hux was still looking at her intently. She wished he would leave. She wished he'd come by more often. Now that she was standing farther away, the sounds of the diner flooded back to her. The corner table needed a check in and she could see Judy from the post office making her way to the front door. 

That reminded her, she twisted and leaned back over the counter to see the clock on the wall. The minute hand was just past the three minute mark. She’d been distracted. 

“Shit!” she hissed and hurried around the counter. She heard the squeak of Hux’s chair as he spun to see where she was going. She ignored him. He was small potatoes compared to her real problem. 

There, darting through the diner door behind Judy, was BeeBee the tabby cat. 

Rose and the cat stared down each other for a second. BeeBee lifted his front paw, as if unsure what to do next. He hadn’t made it this far since the incident with Finn.

Then BeeBee became an orange blur careening for the kitchen. Rose grabbed a plate from one of the tables nearby to block the cat. BeeBee veered off course, weaving through Rey’s legs as she carried a stack of dirty dishes. She managed not to drop any of them, but nudged the table behind her and a jug of water crashed to the ground. The linoleum floor was quickly coated in a puddle of water. 

“Catch that cat!” Rose yelled to the customers at the tables BeeBee darted towards. One of the teenagers in the middle table tried to grab BeeBee, but ended up wiping out instead. Rose hoped they didn’t have a concussion. BeeBee jumped from table to table, causing customers to scream each time he landed in the middle of their brunch. 

“What’s going on here?” Poe shouted, coming out of the kitchen with his arms crossed. 

BeeBee leapt onto the table nearest to Poe, nose sniffing the air. Rose could tell whatever Poe smelled like to the cat, it was exactly what BeeBee was after.

“Watch out!” she called to him. Poe spotted the cat, Rose lunged for the cat, and the cat threw himself onto Poe.

Poe yelled, trying to grab at BeeBee who ran circles around his torso. The momentum of her lunge carried Rose towards the puddle. Her feet went out from under her and-

-and she didn’t crack open her head on the floor. Something was holding her, three feet up from the floor. A hand gripped her upper arm and an arm wrapped around her waist. In a moment she was back on her feet. Nearly nose to nose with Hux. 

“Thanks,” she breathed. Rose couldn’t look away. His eyes flicked across her face, eyebrows drawn together. He looked so genuinely worried, warm like when he smiled at her. It was difficult to remember why he was so horrible.

“My pleasure,” he replied quietly. She liked the sound of his voice, low and close like that. It was a new kind of feeling, she irrationally thought she could tell him anything and he would want to hear it. Rose mentally shook herself, those weren’t productive thoughts. 

She stepped back, smoothing her skirt. Hux’s hands fell from her sides. She wanted to put them back. 

For heaven's sake she was still supposed to be catching this cat. 

She discovered quickly that the situation was being handled. Rey, now without the dishes, wrestled the cat off of Poe’s head, cooing soothingly all the while. Eventually, BeeBee decided the effort to stay on Poe’s head wasn’t worth the hassle of fighting off Rey and he let himself be pried from Poe’s head and cradled in Rey’s arms. 

The diner erupted in applause and hollers while Rey carried BeeBee outside. 

“Alright, settle down folks! Main attraction is supposed to be the food!” Poe announced. He had scratches all over his arms and face. Rose should probably go convince him to open the first aid kit, but he was already strolling back into the kitchen. 

First, she should probably do her job.

Rose looked over at Hux, still standing in the middle of the diner with her, “So, what can I getcha?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is being caught from a fall an overused trope? Yes. Does it do the damn thing? Also yes.


	6. Bad Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Finn go on a hot date. Rey gently breaks the law.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Hux may not be the epitome of communication and romantic health, but boy are they good at detecting bullshit.

The plan came together like this: 

Rose and Finn would pose as prospective renters for one of Plutt’s upper floor units. He’d seen them coming in and out enough together, he likely already thought they were dating. Meanwhile, Rey and Poe would haul out her bigger furniture into his truck and they would sneak into his office to ‘reclaim’ her banking information and lease. They’d be gone before Plutt noticed anything was wrong.

And so far, the plan was going well. Plutt was initially suspicious of Rose and Finn, but after Rose’s sob story about how a pipe burst in their home and how they were desperate to find something, Plutt started to smile in that too wide way of his. It was one of the rules of the world that Rose knew; if you were desperate for anything, people would rip you off. There was nothing Plutt loved more than being on the gaining end of a rip-off. 

“So there are how many bathrooms?” Rose asked. They stood in one of the grimiest housing units she’d ever seen. Plutt owned a series of houses on one street. Each one was divided into three units, too small to be anywhere worth the outrages prices Plutt charged. However, due to the whole buying up the street business, there wasn’t a lot of choice in this part of town. 

“Like I said, there’s one luxurious bathroom with full amenities,” Plutt said, actually rubbing his hands together. What he meant was there was a shower room the size of a shoe box with black mould and peeling paint. Rose had to choke down a laugh at Finn’s terrible acting as he nodded up and down eagerly. 

“Interesting, interesting,” Finn said, stroking an imaginary beard, “and how about the square footage? My girlfriend needs enough space for her yoga.”

“Oh it’s most spacious at over 400 square feet,” Plutt exclaimed like it was a good thing. 

Rose pretended to check under the kitchen sink, subtly checking her phone. Nothing from Rey yet. She internally groaned, they had to keep stalling. 

“This is a great location,” Rose lied, “My boyfriend is a real people person, what are the neighbours like?”

Finn gave her a ‘what the hell look’. Rose shrugged, she was trying to sell it. 

“They’re all top quality, quiet as mice. Never had a complaint,” Plutt lied right back. Rey said the kinds of people Plutt could get to stay were a rougher sort. 

Plutt’s phone rang, “Scuse me, be right back.”

He walked to the corner of the room. It really was just one room with a closet of a bathroom. 

“Anything?” Finn asked.

Rose shook her head, “She got the documents already, asshole accidentally gave her his filing cabinet key as well as the office key. Still waiting on the furniture.”

Finn sighed, “Okay. I think he’s in it now, we just gotta ask more about the utilities or something.”

“He’s not going to want more questions,” Rose disagreed, “We just have to keep him talking.”

“Fine,” said Finn, “You lead though, I’m running out of material.”

Rose gave him a fistbump and they turned to face Plutt just as he hung up the phone.

“Do you wanna hear how I met my boyfr-”

“Sorry folks, I got a meeting to get to. You have my contact info. This unit is yours only if you act fast.”

“We’ll have to think about it,” Rose said, a bit panicked. He was leaving. Finn and Rose followed him out onto the street, having a silent argument the whole way. What were they gonna do? Plutt was going to see Rey leaving with her stuff and this would all be for nothing.

The dusky street was nearly empty except for Poe’s pick up at the end of the street and two figures waiting in front of the house. Rose breathed a sigh of relief, maybe Plutt would get distracted and Rey could escape. 

Her relief was short-lived. 

“Gentlemen, thank you for your call. I was hoping we could meet in person,” Plutt said graciously to Hux and Kylo Ren. Rose and Finn exchanged a look. Just their luck. Should they leave? Rose shook her head, if nothing else they could stick it out and give Rey a head start. 

Hux and Kylo were in their business gear, dark and tailored. Hux raised an eyebrow at Rose, but thankfully didn’t say a word to her. Rose latched onto Finn’s arm. She was supposed to be his girlfriend, not having a stand-off with a stranger. Hux couldn't know that she wasn’t in a relationship, but she also wouldn’t put it past him to figure it out and blow their cover. Finn didn’t shake her off, but stood a bit too stiffly. 

“Of course, we’re going to tour one of the units and come up with an offer if they suit,” Hux said easily, eyes still on Rose. Plutt had his back to the side of the street where Poe’s car sat. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw a mattress make its way out of the house at the end of the street and into the bed of the truck. Oh crap, if Plutt turned he would see them. 

“What are you looking at the units for?” Rose blurted. All five men including Finn turned to stare at her. Hux gave her a look like he didn’t know her game but he liked that she was playing. 

Kylo spoke first, “I don’t think that’s any of your…”

In an instant, his face transformed from an intimidating man to a lost puppy. At the end of the street, Rey put down the mattress, whispering something to Poe then climbing the front steps gracefully. 

Plutt turned to look. Rose stomped on Finn's foot.

“OW!” he yelled, hopping on one foot. 

“Sorry!” Rose said loudly, “I’m just so clumsy.”

Plutt seemed to remember that they were there, “Oh, yeah. These two lovebirds were just checking out the unit. It’s a hot commodity, but luckily It’s still open for you guys to see.”

Hux’s stare turned cold. Rose saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. Ah, there he was. Back to that statue from the first time she saw him; distant and untouchable. She wanted to explain, take it all back. She couldn’t do that now, she just had to watch the gears turning behind his eyes and hope he… well she didn’t know what. 

“Take care of it Hux, you know what I want,” Kylo said distractedly, still gazing longingly down the street. What Kylo wanted obviously wasn't in the house Plutt was offering. 

Plutt shrugged and walked Hux back into the building. Rose thought about following them to make sure they’d take a long time, but she couldn’t think of a good reason. And there was also Kylo, looking about two seconds from running down the street. 

“You can’t have her just because you want her, you know,” Rose said. The steel in her voice came from the need to protect her friend, always an inexhaustible source. Kylo glowered sideways at her. Finn took hold of her upper arm in warning. 

“And how would you know?” Kylo growled. 

“Because she’s a person, not a thing. She might not want you back. And besides, you want her now, but will you want her next week? Is it worth messing up her life?” She hadn’t really thought about Kylo and Rey much at all, but apparently her opinions were firmer than she thought. 

The way she felt was so much clearer when she was thinking about her friend’s situation than her own. It was always a better view from a distance. She realized it wasn’t about Kylo at all. It was about Hux. She wasn’t really protecting Rey from Kylo, he was only half listening to her. She was trying to protect herself from Hux. God, when had she become so confused? Did she know herself at all anymore? 

A little slump set into Kylo’s shoulders. The three of them watched Poe and Rey settle two last boxes in the back of the pick up and climb in. The engine revved and they were gone in a glow of tail lights. 

“We should probably go…” Finn suggested. He was right. They’d all promised to help Rey unpack. 

“Yeah,” Rose said, “See ya.”

Kylo didn’t acknowledge her, still staring after the truck. Rose and Finn left him like that. 

It took only an hour to unpack Rey into Finn’s apartment with the four of them working. Finn had been using the extra room as a gym, but he’d cleared it out for Rey in advance. Rose could tell he was nervous to have Poe in his place, he kept making excuses for the posters on the wall and the messy counters. Poe simply said he thought Finn’s model plane was cool and left it at that. Finn beamed and started talking about the different features. 

Rose went to find Rey in the kitchen putting away some of her baking tools. 

“The boys getting on okay?” Rey asked, rooting around in one of her boxes.

“Yeah,” said Rose, “Finn’s showing off his toys.”

Rey smiled, “At least he's got a new captive audience, I think he’s told me about that model plane three hundred times.”

Rose laughed. It died off when she remembered what she’d come to tell Rey.

“Hey, listen. I have to tell you something,” Rose took a breath and Rey stopped putting things in drawers, “I saw Kylo Ren today. He’s in Resistance.”

She didn’t tell Rey about the way Kylo looked down the street like his entire heart was driving off in the pick up truck. It was her perspective, her opinion. It was better just to state the facts. She didn’t want to get it wrong. 

Rey blew strands of hair out of her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. She didn’t seem devastated or enraged like Rose would have thought. 

“Do you know why he's here?” Rey asked calmly. 

Rose nodded, “Yeah, Hux said they’re finishing up developing Phasma’s farm. I think he’s supposed to be overseeing it or something.”

Rey glanced at her sideways, “Oh ‘Hux said’ did he? He’s a helpful fellow, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, I guess?” Rose didn’t know where Rey was going with this. They were supposed to be talking about Kylo, and what a big problem he might be for Rey. 

“I saw he caught you at the diner during the cat attack, he has nice arms, doesn’t he?” Rey said, mirth dancing in her eyes. 

“I mean yeah, I guess?” Rose didn’t like this line of reasoning at all. 

“He’s pretty sharp, yeah? Good looking?” Rey pressed. 

Rose shrugged, “Yeah? I think anyone could tell you that.”

“Matching socks?”

“Yeah. Neat hair too.”

“Finn!” Rey called to the other room, “Rose has a crush!”

Rose whacked Rey on the arm, “I do NOT have a crush!”

Finn walked in with Poe on his heels, “Who’s Rose’s crush?”

“Nobody!”

“The ginger guy in the suits,” said Rey furtively. Finn looked surprised, Poe scratched his head. 

“Not my type, but go for it Rosie,” said Poe. Finn stared at Poe for a second, then shook himself and turned back to Rose. 

“Rose never likes anyone! The guy who hit on her at the diner last week looked like a GQ model and she turned him down because he put ketchup on his eggs,” Finn said irritably. 

Rose felt the scrutiny of three pairs of eyes, “He was problematic, eggs aren’t supposed to have condiments.”

“So what makes this guy so great?” asked Poe. 

“He’s not great!” Rose insisted, “He’s first order! I’d never have a crush on a first order person, they all suck, no offense Rey.”

Rey shrugged, “Kylo isn’t my boyfriend, I don’t care.”

“I don’t see the problem Rosie,” Poe said, “you don’t have to marry him. You could just ask him if he has any secret tattoos, get ‘er done, and decide if you like him later.”

Rey nodded along. Finn looked horrified. 

“Or maybe,” Rey suggested, “you like him too much to tell him to leave you alone. So now you just gaze longingly at his matching socks and clean fingernails.”

“I do NOT gaze at his fingernails!” Rose protested. 

“Well,” Finn interjected, “he is pretty put together, Rose. But I’m with you, he’s first order and they’re always out to get something from you, no offense Rey-”

“Kylo’s not my boyfriend.”

“- so I think you should just go with your gut,” Finn concluded. Well that was entirely unhelpful, her gut was in knots, she couldn’t tell which way was up when she was talking to Hux. 

“Let’s just get these last boxes done,” Rose checked her watch, “We’re opening in like seven hours.”

Finn set a pleading look on Poe, “Any chance we can open at ten?”

Poe laughed and gently cuffed Finn on the back of the head, “Keep dreaming kid.”

There was something Rose only caught because she was watching closely. Poe’s hand stayed on the back on Finn’s neck for a half-second too long. He was talking big like always, but there was something affectionate in his eyes that she'd never noticed before. 

Rey didn’t seem to see it, packing away the last of her cutlery. Rose shot Finn a suspicious look and he just winked back. She hoped whatever he was up to, it would work out okay. 

Poe and Rose said goodbye and stepped out into the cool night. 

“You want a ride home Rosie?” Poe offered. Rose felt the cool air clearing her mind and relaxing her shoulders. 

“No that’s okay, I’ll walk.”

“Text me when you get home,” Poe said sternly, “And just holler if you run into trouble.”

“Sure thing, Poe. Will you bring the cast iron pan and butcher knife?”

“Right here in my back pocket,” Poe joked. 

Then he was gone and it was just Rose and the night sky. 

She took her time, letting the day slip away, putting her world back in order. She didn’t like to step on the cracks in the sidewalk, she focussed on that instead of the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she was headed for a fall. The street lights were positioned exactly ten metres apart in Finn’s neighbourhood. She focused on that instead of the sense that there was something coming. 

It took exactly twenty five steps to the next street light. Rose breathed easy. She was going to go to work tomorrow and it would be just like any other day. She was going to put her head on right and focus on the things she understood like car engines and clean tables. 

There was someone under the next street light. They were talking loudly into their phone. Rose recognized the voice before she got close enough to recognize the face. A voice of lilting peaks and valleys. 

“No Kylo, it’s a bad idea. We should just build from scratch next to the helibase like the architect suggested. Those houses were practically rotted through,” said Hux. He was quiet for a moment. “Fine, _you_ should just build from scratch. The cost of shuttling to the base alone… I don’t care about the girl. If anything she was leaving because the place is termite infested… No I’m not going to ask her for you…. Call me back when you’re ready to discuss like an adult.”

Hux shoved his phone into his pocket and tilted his head back, taking a frustrated breath. He kind of looked like he wanted to scream. Rose thought about ducking behind a tree until he was gone, but he didn’t look like he was moving anytime soon. She didn’t really feel like hiding anyway. 

“Rough day at the office?” she said. Hux nearly jumped out of his skin. Rose laughed and stepped into the glow of the streetlight. 

Hux narrowed his eyes, “Are you following me?”

“This happens to be my way home,” Rose replied. 

“You’re walking?” Hux said, incredulous. Rose looked around, there were only the two of them on the street. 

“Uh, yeah. It's just something I do to get from A to B. Anyway, bye.”

She stepped around him, leaving him to his… lurking. A few seconds later, Hux fell into step beside her as she walked. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked straight ahead. 

“What are you doing?” she asked. 

He gave her a critical look, “Accompanying you.”

“I didn’t ask you to, I’m fine. This isn’t the city, nothing happens around here. If anything does happen, I’ll just call Poe or Finn.”

Hux watched the sidewalk again, “He’s not your boyfriend.”

Rose was taken aback for a second. He said it like a statement, completely sure. So maybe it was a show for Plutt, but why would Hux assume she and Finn weren’t dating when they were trying so hard to pull it off?

“How would you know? You don’t know me.”

“Not nearly as well as I would like to,” she really walked into that one, “and besides, the cook fancies him. I’d imagine it’s reciprocated.”

Rose gawked at him. Poe wasn’t in love with Finn, it was the other way around, she was pretty sure she’d notice something like that. 

“And again, how would you know? You talked to Poe like once. About business.” 

“And he interrupted Kylo in the middle of his offer to remind the waiter to top up the coffee. He barely looked at us for the rest of the interaction. I could write it off as idiocy, but as soon as that waiter came near, he re-engaged like he was showing off. I’ve only seen him smile while he’s shouting at that boy. Not the same as with you or the other waitress.”

“That doesn’t prove anything,” Rose said, “Poe’s always talked big.”

“They switched trousers,” Hux said drolly. 

Rose tripped on the sidewalk and grabbed his arm to keep from eating the concrete, “What do you mean, they switched pants?!”

“I mean,” Hux explained, “last month the waiter wore a pair of light blue jeans with an unfortunate coffee stain on the calf. I remember thinking it was shaped a bit like France. Low and behold when the cook came out during the whole cat fiasco, same trousers, same stain.”

“Maybe Finn borrowed Poe’s pants. It doesn’t mean they’re together,” Rose reasoned. Were Poe and Finn even close enough for borrowing clothes? 

“Honestly, I don’t care if they’re dating or playing platonic video games,” Hux said flippantly, “What matters is that the cook looks at the waiter like he’s the daily special and the waiter looks at the cook like he’s hung the moon. I doubt very much that you’d tolerate your significant other to be so... distracted. He isn’t your boyfriend.”

“I could have a girlfriend,” Rose reached. 

“You could,” Hux said reasonably, “But you don’t.”

“Do you want the satisfaction of me telling you you’re right?” Rose grumbled, “You can have it, it’s not worth much.”

Hux laughed, “No I don’t want that from you. I just like to know where I stand.”

They turned onto Rose’s street. There weren’t any street lights here, but the full moon cast a silvery light over the trees and road. She was going to tell Hux to leave back at that first streetlight, but they were already here. It had felt like three minutes, but it must have been a solid fifteen. Time flies when you’re squabbling?

“This is me. Thanks, I guess, for walking me,” Rose said, stopping in front of her house. 

Hux looked up at the house with those careful eyes of his. All of the lights from the downstairs home were off. Only the light by the side door, Rose’s door, was on. Rose didn’t know if it was a good idea to have told him where she lived, but it was too late for that worry now. He didn’t seem dangerous, standing close in the moonlight. She noticed the top of her head only came up to his nose, but he never tried to tower over her or make her crane her neck to talk to him. 

While he was a bit of a prick in general, he only really made her mad with his presumptions, which were so far on target. The Finn and Poe thing was gonna really bug her though. Had she really been spending so much time trying to support Finn in his unrequited love that she forgot to watch Poe? It did explain what she noticed at Finn’s place though. Oh she was so gonna have a talk with Finn. 

Rose didn’t move from her spot and neither did Hux. She couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t done here. She couldn’t explain it logically, but she felt it.

“What are you really doing back here?” she asked, looking up at the moon. She liked it best when it was full, a perfect circle floating in the sky.

“I had to go for a walk, Kylo was being entirely unreasona-”

“I don’t mean tonight, I mean in Resistance at all.”

“I told you before, Kylo is a right mess over this project-”

“I didn’t ask about Kylo, I asked about you,” Rose found the courage to look him in the eye. For a moment, Hux looked at war with himself, lips pursed and jaw tight. Eventually he seemed to come to a conclusion. He didn’t look away.

“You’re right to think I have people to do this part. Phasma’s bunkhouse isn’t exactly comfortable. I could be back in the city emailing my orders to an assistant, not babysitting Kylo. But when I left last time, I was sure that I forgot something. I looked through all my belongings, twice, and I couldn’t find anything missing. I even called the motel. All the while I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I realized that you were what I was looking for.”

“I’m not a toothbrush you left behind, Hux,” Rose interjected. She tried to focus on the negatives, because if she let herself be carried away with the story, she was afraid that she wouldn’t come back. It was an odd mirror of the conversation she'd just had with Kylo, but at least this time Hux was paying attention.

He laughed bleakly, “I know you’re not an object, Rose, I admire your nerve more than your beauty, not that you're lacking. I think you might be one of the most wonderful women I've ever met. But I also know that you didn’t call. I suppose I’m here because I’m stubborn, because I don’t like losing.”

“I’m not a game either, Hux.”

“I know- You- Obviously-” Hux rubbed a hand over his face and looked up at the tree in her yard like it would give him the right words. She couldn’t help but find it a little endearing. He always seemed to have everything so carefully planned, it was new to see him struggle. It made him seem again like that genuine person she was beginning to suspect he actually was when he wasn’t so busy trying to be in control. She wondered what he might be like if he was that person all the time. 

He kissed her and she stopped wondering altogether. 

It was brief, just a hand at the corner of her jaw and lips brushing against hers. Oh, she thought, his hand on her skin felt like _that_. His lips against hers felt like _that_. 

“Apologies,” Hux said quietly, taking a full step back, “That was entirely too forward. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No,” Rose agreed, “You shouldn’t have.”

She strode forward, looped her arms around his neck, and then they were really kissing. Hux made a surprised noise, but his arm went around her lower back and his lips moved against hers without hesitation. There was no mix of good and bad feelings, no push and pull. It was just them, moving closer closer closer. It was so simple like this. No questions of right and wrong, just the gentle tug of his teeth over her lip.

Rose pulled back slowly. Hux didn’t chase her, leaving his arms loose around her so she could make the space she needed. 

“Alright then,” Rose said curtly, “Goodnight.”

She withdrew from him, disentangling her arms from around his neck, and crossed the street. She looked back once, twice. He watched her go like he already knew her and wanted her more for it. 

Rose couldn’t help her spiralling thoughts as she climbed the steps to her loft. Would Hux keep looking at her like that in a few days, in a week? Or would he get what he came for then leave her here to pick up the pieces?

She was tough, she could handle herself, but she couldn't handle that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gingerose: ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)=ε/̵͇̿̿/'̿̿ ̿ ̿ ̿ ̿ ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ
> 
> Also Gingerose: (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ ☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜)


	7. I Didn't Plan It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people are born planners, and some... are not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not relevant to the plot, but this fic is set in the PPCU (Peppa Pig Cinematic Universe).

Rose cornered Finn behind the counter just before opening. It was Sunday morning, so they had all hands on deck. Or rather, they should, but Rey mysteriously hadn’t come in yet.

“Anything you want to share with me?” Rose asked, standing square in the middle of the aisle. 

Finn looked around the diner, “Did I forget to replace the napkins on table four? I swear I’ll get that done.”

He was doing a really good job at playing dumb. Rose crossed her arms, “Are you sure there’s nothing you want to tell me, your best friend of four years, who had to listen to you complain every day about how you’ll be single forever?”

Finn looked comically confused now, “I have no idea what you're talking about. Doesn’t sound like me.”

“You didn’t think to tell me you and Poe were hooking up?!” she whispered furiously at him. 

Finn’s mouth popped open, then he rushed over to her, clamping a hand over her mouth, “Quiet!”

Rose bit him and he yelped. 

“Everything alright out there? Sounds like two cats in a bathtub,” Poe commented through the food window. 

“No, ahahaha,” Finn faked a nervous laugh, “Just discussing… uh… planes.”

“Planes?!” Rose whispered.

“It was the only thing I could think of,” Finn whispered back. They both picked up towels and started wiping down the coffee machines side by side. 

“So? Are you gonna spill? Or should I ask him myself?” Rose glanced significantly at the food window. Finn reached over her shoulder to turn up the ambient music, drowning them out. 

“I’m not supposed to tell anyone…”

“Why? Are you in trouble? Do you need help?”

“No, no it’s not like that,” Finn laughed under his breath, “He’s just… shy.”

“You’re telling me, _Poe Dameron_ is shy.”

“Okay I know it sounds bad, he’s technically our boss, but we have a good thing going here with all of us working together, he doesn’t want to mess it up with any hard feelings.”

“Finn, didn’t you mess it up with hard feelings the second you saw him?”

“Well, yeah, but I think he just doesn’t want you guys to be weirded out.”

“What! I could never be weirded out, junior's getting some, this is a special time in all our lives.”

“Actually now I’m weirded out on your behalf... Hey, I’m a foot taller than you!”

They moved on to wiping down the pie display case. It was empty except for a few leftover pieces from last night. Where the hell was Rey?

“How’d this even happen? Last I knew you were dancing circles around him and he was telling you to get back to work.”

“I didn’t plan it out or anything, I’m not that smooth, but in June, that day it was raining really hard, he drove me home. It turns out that I’m actually on his way so he started driving me home every day. We just talked and had a good time, it’s easy with him. Then he started driving me to other places. We went to the lookout up the highway and the drive-in theatre, all kinds of places. I didn’t even really realize when they turned into dates. Next thing I knew we were making out under the July fireworks.”

Rose tried really really hard not to think about her kiss with Hux last night. This was about Finn, she’d tossed and turned over her mistake for hours already. She didn't have to treat this like it was Finn's bad call. 

“I’m so happy for you Finn, really. I just wish you woulda told me so I could tease you about it when you guys were still in the awkward phase. It’s no fun now,” she squeezed his arm and he smiled back at her. 

Finn’s smile faded into a look of concern, “But how did you know? I tried really hard not to show anything at work because I don’t want the whole town to start talking.”

Rose groaned, “Of all people I had to find out from Hux that my best friend is hooking up with my other friend. Truly humiliating, so thank you for that.”

“Hey! You guys yapping or prepping out there?” Poe shouted from the kitchen.

“Multitasking,” Rose yelled back. She and Finn moved onto the windows. They were already pretty clean, but there was not much else left to do. The diner was supposed to open in ten minutes. Rose had called Rey earlier, but there was no answer. Hopefully she had a good reason or lie to feed Poe when she got there. 

“Did he find out from Kylo? I wonder if Rey told him,” Finn mused.

“Rey knew?!” Rose practically shouted at him. Finn winced.

“Um, well, she kinda caught us making out after close in the kitchen last week,” he said apprehensively.

Rose stopped wiping, “So I was the only one in this whole diner who didn’t know,” Finn nodded slowly, “Wow, Peppa Pig was right, you gotta keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” 

“I don’t think Peppa said- look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you and I’m sorry you had to find out from that stuck up first order guy,” she didn’t correct him, “But how bout this, I’ll do you one favour, anything you want.”

“You do me favours all the time, Finn.”

“But this one has a title, a favour with clout.”

“Fine, I forgive you, but it’s not gonna be a nice favour.”

Finn nodded quickly, going to fill the water jugs. It was one minute to open. Rose went to the door and unlocked it, flipping the sign. Sometimes there were people waiting outside to get a first pick at the breakfast pies. Rose opened the door to check, there was someone walking fast towards the diner. The first customer was… Rey?

“Kind of you to join us,” Poe drawled from the kitchen door.

“Sorry, sorry!” Rey breathed, “But it’s worthwhile. Rose can you put the sign back and lock the door?”

Rose did what Rey asked, there was weight in her tone. Even Poe didn’t argue when he saw what Rey brought. She cleared a space on table ten, pushing aside Rose’s carefully aligned cutlery. Rose valiantly didn't flinch at the ruined table setting. Rey produced a small stack of papers from her tote and dropped them on the table.

“The whole town just got bought out.”

“What?” Rose said, rushing forward to flip through the papers. At first it looked like a bunch of random emails and documents on official letterhead. Not much jumped out at first glance.

“I was just at Be-Kylo’s, it doesn’t matter why,” she rushed out when all three of them turned to stare at her, “and I found these while he was in the shower. He’s bought the land rights to the entire town. They’re going to start development on Main Street in two weeks.”

“How?” Poe said, “No one with any backbone was gonna sell to him.”

“No one did,” Rey continued, “Everyone still owns the physical buildings, but anything going through the land, be it a fence post or foundation, belongs to his company. He can start putting land taxes so high that everyone will be forced to sell. He’s got every business and a few homes near Phasma’s farm. He’s even got the diner, look”

Rey shuffled through the stack, separating one sheet in particular. She handed it to Poe. His eyes flicked side to side, skimming through the contract. Finn sidled closer, peering over Poe’s shoulder to read. Standing like that, Rose thought they looked good together. It wasn’t a happy kind of couples moment though. Poe got to the bottom and his face went pale, he leaned on a chair back for support. “Fuck.”

Rose remembered Hux, Kylo, and Phasma standing outside the bank the other day. Was this what Hux was talking about? She rifled through the papers again. The documents on the official letterhead matched the logo from Hux’s business card. She felt sick.

“What are we gonna do?” Finn asked.

“I don’t know if there’s anything we can do,” said Poe. 

Rose shook her head, pulling back her shoulders and lifting her chin like she’d seen her sister do a thousand times, “No. You know what, this is my home. I’m not gonna let some jackass walk in here and take it from me, no offense Rey.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“We might not have all the tools they have, but you know what we do have?”

“What?” said Poe.

“Fighting dirty.”

**********

Hux was having a rare good day. The first ski chalet had been finished, so he finally moved out of Phasma’s bunk house and into something a little more comfortable. Kylo had refused to move, saying he liked the rustic experience or something. Hux didn’t care, he finally had some space from that overgrown nightmare. 

Hux’s plan also came into effect yesterday. The townspeople had been so… resistant to their offers, vexing Hux to no end. Then the idea formed in his mind, a way to pull out the rug from under them, a way to speed this whole thing up.

It was laughably easy. Just a few phone calls, a few bribes from Kylo’s pocket, and they had everything they needed to finish the job. This week they would be flying in potential partners and suppliers to buy into one of the shop spaces. 

If it were any other client, Hux would have considered his job done and drafted up the new contracts for the buy-ins from his downtown office. Most of his clients had teams to take care of everything beyond the contract negotiation. This wasn’t any client though, this was Kylo Ren, and Kylo Ren demanded Hux stay to play nice with the investors. Hux would have loved to tell him to dream on, but he knew, just as Kylo did, there was danger of failure if Kylo was left alone with the small talk. Hux hated to fail. 

In a surprisingly intelligent move, Kylo had kept Phasma around on a small retainer. She knew about the town and its history better than any of them did and she had a very useful knack for navigating the townspeople. Hux was considering offering her a job in his company. She would be a perfect PA or task manager. 

And then there was the matter of Rose. He’d made some headway with her, if the way she’d kissed him was anything to go by, but he wasn’t sure how to proceed. He didn’t think she’d take him up on an offer to fly with him to the city, or maybe even a date. She ran a bit hot and cold, clearly trying very hard not to like him. Hux was certain it was too late for that. 

Still, he didn’t want to press too hard too fast and have her change her mind. Of course there were other women he could pursue, and no doubt she could turn her interest on an easier man. But he was nothing if not persistent. And she was exactly what he wanted.

He wasn’t often captivated like this. Hux was very particular with what he chose to spend his time on because when something caught his interest, he didn’t sway until it was his. It was one of his most auspicious traits, sometimes to a fault. When he was growing up in London, he’d decided he wanted to turn the stray calico cat in the back lane into his house pet. He’d come home every day covered head to toe in scratches, but eventually he got close enough to pick her up without losing an eyeball. He had realized then it only took a bit of extra work to make his new friend. 

He'd come to recognize that he was hardwired for the long game. It wasn’t enough to see a painting he liked in a gallery, he had to bring it home with him at the end of the auction after all of the other bidders were worn down. It was by consistency, not a flashy show, that he outlasted every realtor in the firm before he made it his own. 

Rose had caught his interest with the keen presence in her eyes and her own sense of order. He could tell she saw the world the same way he did; a series of problems to fix. He knew that she wasn’t as simple as a painting or a cat he could own with a few scratches or dents in his bank account, she’d made that clear enough. Hux could be patient though, he could wait for her to make up her mind on her own. She was worth the time.

His assistant in the city called in the afternoon. Things were running smoothly without him, but he got the sense the lead realtor had her foot off the pedal. Hux was sure things would begin to slip through the cracks if he stayed away much longer. He decided he’d head down to the city for a few days then come back up with the first potential partner. 

But first, some lunch. 

*********

The diner was packed when Hux arrived. He actually had to wait behind a couple before he was seated. The couple clung to each other like they were drowning, but the boy kept looking over at one of the girls with long hair at the corner table through the glass. Hux hazarded a guess that they’d last a month. 

The waiter came to greet Hux, smile sliding off his face as soon as he recognized Hux. Hux tried not to feel too flattered. 

“For one,” Hux prompted. 

The waiter said an acidic, “Sure thing, sir,” and led him to the corner table where he and Kylo had first sat. The waiter left the menu on the wrong side of the table and left without a word. If Hux didn’t know who was running the place, he’d be surprised that the waiter still had a job. Truly top tier customer service. 

He didn’t look at the menu, he already knew what he wanted. Rose was behind the counter chatting to an older woman and writing on her notepad. Hux had seen her handwriting when she'd talked to him at the counter last week. She crossed her t’s in perfect ninety degree angles. 

Instead of watching Rose do her job like a nutcase, he took out his phone and addressed some emails. As he suspected, one of his other clients was interested in meeting to discuss their contract renewal. Hux would have to handle that personally, he didn’t trust his lead realtor not to miss a loophole. 

“What are you doing here?” a voice tore his eyes from his phone. Rose had one hand on her hip and a distinctly displeased look on her face. 

“Lunch, it seems,” Hux said, “Funnily enough I don’t seem to have another restaurant option.”

“I mean, you don’t live here. Go home,” Rose said, glaring down at him. She was angry, honestly upset at him. He didn’t think their kiss last night had been so bad. He didn’t let his disorientation show.

“I am heading back to the city today, in fact. Fortunately my life doesn’t entirely revolve around Kylo Ren and his problems,” he said drolly. Rose stiffened, looking out the window instead of at Hux. He turned to see what she was looking at. There was nothing there. 

“You’re going back to the city?” she asked, voice dropping under the noise of the diner. 

“Yes, but I’m-”

“Alright, poached eggs on toast, coming right up,” Rose interrupted sharply, still not looking at him. She was across the diner before Hux had a chance to reply. It was actually what he was going to order, what he always ordered, but it was odd she didn’t let him say it. She'd just asked him in no uncertain terms to leave, but when he'd said he was leaving, she'd seemed even more upset. Hux felt like he was missing something, he was used to being the one in the room with all the information.

He supposed it could be nothing to do with him. But then he saw the waiter joking with the couple that had been ahead of him in line, not giving them the cold treatment he’d given Hux. The cook seemed to be scowling at Hux specifically every time he looked towards the kitchen. Even the other waitress…. Rey was her name, frowned a bit when she passed his table. 

Hux irrationally wondered if they’d discovered that Kylo owned the diner in every way except a technicality. But that didn’t make sense, if anything they’d be chasing down Kylo for that. 

Rose came back with his meal and a glass of water.

“Rose, if I’ve done anything to offend you, I sincerely apologize,” Hux found that he really meant it. He never had any intention to hurt her, even if he couldn’t quite figure out what he’d done. 

“Just go home, Hux,” she said, “before you make it worse.”

“Rose, honestly, I don’t-”

“Just leave!” she set down the plate and glass too hard, spilling water over the table. A few patrons at the surrounding tables turned to look at them. Rose seemed to realize what she’d done and produced a cloth from her apron, efficiently wiping down the table. Hux stayed quiet, moving cutlery and salt shakers out of her way. He mulled over their past encounters. She’d been frustrated with him before, but she’d been halfway to flirting then.

“I was hoping I underestimated you, but I think I got you right the first time,” she said more quietly as she leaned across him to get the corner. 

“I’m sorry for whatever it is, really,” he said just as quietly. He wanted her to understand him, he was starting to think she might be the best person for it. But it seemed like they were talking about two different things right now. 

Rose finally looked at him, they were nearly nose to nose. She wasn’t going to kiss him again in the middle of the diner, though they were close enough for it. When he looked in her eyes, all he saw was hurt. 

“I’m sorry too,” she said. She stood up again, reminding him of when they’d spoken over the Mercedes engine. This would surely have a different ending. 

As if to prove his point, Rose walked away. She didn’t look back, going to check in at another table. Hux scarfed down his lunch and threw a wad of cash on the table as he left. He didn’t bother counting it, he knew exactly how much it was. He also didn’t think it would matter to Rose, but maybe the others would take it as an apology for a wrong they didn’t know he’d done. 

His phone rang as soon as his helicopter reached a thousand feet a few hours later. 

“What is it?” Hux snapped by way of greeting, yelling to be heard over the sound of helicopter blades. 

“It’s all gone,” Kylo said furiously. 

“What’s all gone?” Hux had a sinking feeling in his chest even as the helicopter banked around the clouds. 

“The land claims, they were on my desk.”

Hux couldn’t believe he was having this conversation with a Forbes 30 Under 30 contender, “Did they fall off the desk? Did you put them in the bin by accident? We have electronic copies, just print more.”

“No, I mean she took the documents when she left this morning,” Kylo moaned, “I went into the shower for five minutes and I came out and she was gone and so were the land claims.”

“Is ‘she’, by any chance, Rey the waitress?”

“Yeah.”

Hux moved the phone away from his face and swore, loudly. 

“She took my things,” Kylo sounded a bit injured about the betrayal. Hux wanted to throw his phone out the window. No wonder they all glared at him this morning, his whole scheme had been laid out for judgement. 

He hadn’t expected to keep the secret forever. In fact, it was an essential part of his plan for Kylo to put a choke hold on the whole town. He had just been hoping for a bit of room to maneuver before then. He hated when he was forced to show his hand. 

“You have to fix this Kylo,” he ground out through his teeth. 

“What? Me? I’m your client!”

“And I’m halfway to the city. I can’t come back until Wednesday. Use Phasma if you have to. They can’t take any legal action, we did everything by the book, or at least the things the book recorded. But you still need to put a cap on this before I get back with the suppliers.”

“How am I supposed to do that? They couldn’t be bought,” Kylo said petulantly. 

Hux sighed loudly, “Not everyone wants money, Kylo. Have you ever thought about asking her what _she_ wants?”

The line sat in stunned silence. Hux hung up. 

The sun set orange on the horizon, Hux glared back at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making another angsty end to the chapter. Here, take this ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ it will feel better.


	8. Never Ever Getting Rid of Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn and Rose go on another hot date complete with B+E, eavesdropping, theft, and cybercrime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gets on soap box*
> 
> The concept of land ownership is eurocolonial as hell and I don't mean to offend anyone by insinuating land claims are equivalent to property ownership in this fic. Colonialism and imperialism are huge themes in the star wars cannon, and the small town of Resistance made an easy allegory for the galaxy. Still, the fact that a company can actually buy undeveloped land from "the Crown" in Canada today and not involve indigenous peoples is wacky as shit.
> 
> *trust falls off soap box onto comically tiny Queen E II*

The plan came together like this:

Poe would close the diner early so he could go store to store, showing the proof of purchase to everyone in Resistance. Meanwhile, Rey would find Kylo and distract him, allowing Rose and Finn to sneak into his cabin and steal his laptop. Maz Katana was the only computer repair person in Resistance, but she had a sweet spot for Rey, and by extension Rey’s friends who needed to unlock a computer. They’d get into the computer, find out something helpful, and put it back where they found it within the hour.

So far, it was going alright. 

Rose bumped her head on the window sill as she hoisted herself into the cabin. Once inside, she reached an arm out to help Finn up too. They had landed in some kind of living room. The inside of the cabin was not at all the bare bones tiny room Hux made it out to be, it was three floors of exposed wooden beams, fur rugs, and stone fireplaces. Rose could understand why Hux didn’t want to share it with Kylo though, the man’s stuff was everywhere. Figures he forgot to lock his windows. The back up plan was smashing the window, but that would take a bit more explaining. 

“Here!” Finn said, rushing over to a desk on the far side of the room. Sure enough there was a black laptop resting closed under a few sheets of paper and receipts. Finn grabbed it and tucked it under his arm. 

“That was faster than-” 

A crunch of gravel outside cut Rose off mid sentence. She and Finn exchanged a wide-eyed stare. Then it was a mad dash back to the window. Rose practically launched herself off a couch cushion and through the open window, leaving Finn to scramble behind her. 

They pressed against the building, not wanting to make a break for it in case whoever it was could see them. Rose’s ears strained to pick up any indication of movement. Finn’s breath was loud in her ear. 

“Ben, please, can we talk about this?” 

It was Rey’s voice, unmistakably. Rose shot a puzzled look at Finn, who the hell was Ben? 

“I’m done talking,” that sounded a lot like Kylo. Oh god, was he going to go inside and immediately see his missing laptop? Finn jerked his head, gesturing for them to go. Rose shook her head, if Kylo and Rey were still on the porch, they’d be spotted in a second. 

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, but you have to understand that this is my home, I can’t let you take that away from me,” a hint of panic crept into Rey’s voice. Rose couldn’t tell if Rey was panicked about the fact that Kylo was going to open the door, or about the town being demolished to make space for a resort. 

“You said it was going to be the two of us, you lied, Rey,” Kylo’s voice broke over her name, “If I can’t trust you, this will just get more fucked up than it is.”

There was the soft clicking of a key sliding into a lock. Finn gestured for them to go again. Rose shook her head and grabbed his arm. They weren’t in the clear just yet. 

“I’m pregnant,” Rey said desperately. Clearly, she’d realized that Rose and Finn could still be in there. Still, Rose had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping.

“What?” Kylo said softly. Rose never heard the clunk of the lock. They might still have a shot at this, if Rey could play things right. 

“You don’t have to do anything, or say anything, I just wanted you to know before this all went to shit,” Rey said, bitterness clipping her words short. 

“Do you know if it’s… mine?” Kylo sounded small, unsure. 

“Yes, you’re the... donor. But it’s my baby, I’m not asking for money,” Rey said firmly.

Kylo was quiet for a long moment, long enough for Rose to consider checking if they were still there.

“What do you want, Rey?”

“I’ve always wanted a family," Rey said without hesitation, "I’m getting my own family now because of you,” and that red dress, Rose added mentally, “So I guess I can thank you for that.”

“A family?” Kylo echoed. 

“Not everyone is born lucky,” Rey's tone had turned soft. Rose had to strain her ears to hear.

“No, they aren’t. Sometimes you have to make your own luck,” Kylo said. 

There was a soft thud. No one spoke for a few seconds. Rose carefully peaked around the corner and- 

Yup, they were mid-kiss against the railing of the balcony. Kylo was facing away from them. Rey's eyes were closed.

Rose waved for Finn to get moving and they took off towards Poe’s truck hidden on the utility road through the pasture. Rose didn’t doubt that Rey would keep him distracted for long enough now. It was a great move on Rey’s part, Rose hoped it didn’t take too much from her in the meantime. 

Maz Katana was unlike anyone in Resistance. She stood at four feet and eleven inches, had frizzy grey hair sticking out in all directions, and threatened people who came too close to her mailbox with a taser. She also happened to be the closest computer repair person in a two hundred kilometre radius. 

“So, what do you think?” Finn said apprehensive. They stood in Maz’ living room. Or the space that was supposed to be the living room. It had steel shelving full of loose circuitry lining every wall. Wires coiled messily over the floor. A work table was covered in peeled open phones and car keys and game controllers. 

“I think that you kids are playing with fire. I love to see it,” Maz said gleefully. She made a few clicks, hit a few keys, then turned the laptop to face Rose and Finn. “So what do you want to find?”

"Something to help us," Finn said uncertainly. 

Finn hesitated, one hand outstretched for the laptop. Rose pulled the laptop towards herself and opened the browser. A man like Kylo was sure to be paranoid, but he also had a kind of hungry look in his eyes. He talked to people like he was daring them to fight, like he’d had to win some fights to get to where he was. To Rose, he seemed like the kind of person to always be looking for the next win, always looking to prove himself. 

He wasn’t like Hux who seemed to choose his battles carefully and relish a victory. Kylo Ren seemed like the type to be constantly checking his earnings, afraid that they’d disappear as quickly as he got them. Rose did the exact same thing, but probably with a lot less money, and definitely not earned from bulldozing other people. 

Rose went to the history tab, found the first bank name, and clicked the link. The account opened automatically. 

“Whoa,” said Finn, leaning over her shoulder, “How’d you do that?”

“People who check their net worth every day don’t want to type in their bank account number every time,” she knew it from experience, but she didn’t add that. 

Maz hummed in agreement, then waddled to the other end of the table where something that looked a lot like a gutted graphing calculator required her attention. 

“So what are we looking for?” Finn asked. Rose started scrolling through the transaction history.

“Something that looks suspicious.”

“That’ll be easy,” Finn said sarcastically, “He’s such an open book.”

Rose wasn’t listening. It was a bit tricky at first to understand the transaction titles, some of them had full words and some of them were a random jumble of letters and numbers. She caught onto a pattern after a few minutes. There were payments on a credit card, there was rent every month, there was a phone bill, all of it at least quadruple what Rose paid for the same things. 

There were also transfers. If he had been involved in any shady dealings to do with the land ownership, he would have likely done it in the past month after he stopped offering to businesses directly. Something caught her eye. A huge sum paid out to a name she didn't recognize. She copied the name into the search engine. They were part of the provincial Ministry of Resource Operations. Rose clicked back to the bank statement, bringing up a page of details. It was paid two days before Rey found the documents. 

“Holy shit, is this it?” Finn breathed. 

Rose nodded, “I can’t be sure, but if anything was, it would be this. Dumbass sent a government bribe from his own bank account.”

Maz snorted from the other end of the table. Her coke bottle glasses made her eyes seem enormous, “It’s always the dumbasses with the deep pockets.”

“What can we even do with this?” asked Finn. 

In that moment, the problem seemed insurmountable. What could they even do? Kylo Ren and his first order power were stronger than a few people from a pitstop town. If he could control the land and bend them to his will, surely he could do more in a he said she said legal battle. They had proof, but what could they even do with it?

Rose shook her head. No, every problem started out impossible. The practice questions in her mechanics textbook always seemed impossible at first read. But when she went through step by step, applied the right formulas in the right order, they were easy as pie. 

“We aren’t going to do anything with this,” Rose said definitively. 

“What?”

“I am going to send a copy to myself and Holdo. Then you are going to text Rey to take Kylo for a walk or something. Then we are going to put the laptop back where we found it and never tell anyone what we did,” Rose said definitively. 

Understanding dawned on Finn’s face, “Holdo was a lawyer before she came here to ‘find inner peace’ or whatever she talks about, right?”

Rose nodded, clearing the cookies and browser history after she sent a copy to herself, “A corporate lawyer. I don’t think she’s going to be able to take him down herself, but I think she’ll be pissed off enough about losing her business to do something about it.”

She was grateful now that Holdo over-shared so much during checkout. In between cursing Poe’s name for the burger bun incident, she sometimes had dropped hints about her cutthroat past life. Well, Rose hoped she’d be ready to take a walk down memory lane. 

“Rey just replied,” Finn showed her the text conversation, “She said we’d have until 8pm. That leaves us 20 minutes.”

“In that case,” Rose shut the laptop with a snap, “Let’s roll.”

*************

The drone of the helicopter rattled the glass in the pie display case. 

Rose glared out the window. It was near dusk, the shadows stretched long on the pavement. It could be another emergency helicopter. She doubted it. 

“Get gone,” hollered Poe from the kitchen, “I gotta close the books.”

“Need a hand?” Rose called back. It was just the two of them closing tonight. Rey had asked for the night off and Finn opened in the morning. It felt a little too quiet all alone in the front. At least Poe had a big voice. 

“Nah, it’s not much to do.”

“Okay, see you tomorrow!” Rose yelled to him, already hanging her apron under the counter. 

She would have helped if he’d asked, but at the same time, it had been a long Wednesday. The summer rush showed no signs of slowing. The front door swung shut softly behind her. Rose started her walk home on numb feet. 

It wasn't all bad though, her savings ticked up with every customer who walked in the door after some pie. Rose could almost apply for the winter semester at the university in the city. Although, if the plan to save the town failed, she wouldn't have any choice but to leave.

Holdo had been suitably angry when Poe had shown her the land claim documents, then more so when Rose sent on the bank statement. She’d told them all she’d handle it, and they believed her. Or, at least Rey, Rose, and Finn believed her. Poe’d said he’d be watching her and Holdo had laughed in his face and dared him to try her. Finn had to pull Poe out of Holdo’s house before the whole thing went south. 

Rose was starting to feel a bit hopeful. Not a lot hopeful because the flyweight didn’t often come out on top in the real world. At least, they might get some attention for what happened to Resistance. They might be able to walk away with a bit more than nothing. She didn't feel happy, though. There was still that irritating hollow feeling in her chest. She told herself she'd rather feel hollow than shattered, but she wasn't sure that was entirely true.

At home, she turned on the kitchen light and put her burger from the diner in the microwave for exactly one minute and twelve seconds. She only asked for take-out once a week so she didn’t get sick of it. Poe might have the attitude of a trash panda sometimes, but his burgers never disappointed. 

Rose changed into her pyjamas, glad to be free of her bra, and stopped the timer one second before the microwave beeped. She hated when it made such a loud noise in all this quiet. 

The doorbell rang. 

No one ever rang her doorbell. Finn and Rey usually just walked in, everyone else was here for the family downstairs. 

Rose thought about grabbing a wrench, but nothing ever happened in Resistance. Whoever it was would get enough trouble from her for bothering her this late and making her walk all the way down from the loft. 

She opened the door on someone she never expected to see again. 

Hux’s eyes flicked down once before settling on her face determinedly. He didn’t fool her though, a bit of colour appeared in his cheeks. Rose resisted the urge to cross her arms over her chest. If he was going to be a handsome nuisance, then he got to be uncomfortable with her white tank top, not her. 

“What are you doing here?” she asked him for what felt like the hundredth time. Hux cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. He must really be uncomfortable, good. 

This time he didn’t beat around the bush with his half-answers, “I wanted to see you.”

“Okay, well now you have,” she said, deadpan. 

“I think you misunderstood me last time,” he said, accent softer than she’d heard it before, “I was just going to the city to sort some things and pick up… well it doesn’t matter. But I’m here, now, for you.”

He said it earnestly, that warm layer beneath coming through. Rose felt something twist in her chest at the thought that he came back for her, again. But she had some things to sort too. 

“I think it does matter,” she said deceptively calm for a moment, “I think it matters very much that you’re trying to gentrify a whole fucking town!”

Hux, to his credit, didn’t recoil. His eyebrows shot up and his shoulders tensed under his grey peacoat.

She advanced on him, forcing him to step back into the driveway, “You can tell me you want me and kiss me in the street, but I find it all hard to believe if you’re forcing me out of my home while you do it!”

“Rose-”

“I don’t care about how much you’ll make, I can’t look past this, Hux!”

She was aware that she was yelling in the driveway for all the neighbours to hear. She was just so angry. No, that wasn’t it. She was hurt. God, she'd tried so hard to leave her heart locked up, but here she was, hurt anyway. Hurt that a man who clearly liked her, who she realized she liked back, could do something so terrible. He wasn’t just taking her home, he was trying to court her while he did it. 

Rose turned on her heel. A hand caught her wrist before she took a step. She whirled on Hux, glaring. He dropped his hand, but stepped closer, intensity burning in his eyes. 

“I don’t care about it either. We both know I’m not here for business, not really. I can’t stop thinking about you, I can’t let you go. But if you tell me to go now and never come back, I will.” 

"What makes this different from all of the other times I told you to leave?"

"This time I know why. You don't want me to go because you're uninterested," Rose didn't correct him, it would have been a lie anyway, "You wanted me to go before because my motivations were unclear. Let me make myself clear now."

Hux moved closer, never moving his eyes from hers. Rose sucked in a breath. She was supposed to be walking away but her feet wouldn’t move. He seemed like he meant it, like he really would go for good this time if she asked. Why wasn't she asking him to go?

“You can’t have me either way. Maybe if you weren’t ruining my life, you could be _with_ me,” she said quietly. She still wasn't asking him to leave. Her brain was the battleground it always was when he got in her space. She knew what was right and what she wanted and they did not line up. His eyes really were equally blue and green, she wondered which colour he had written on his driver’s license. She wondered if he always wore that cologne or just when he was going somewhere. She wondered what he might be like on a Sunday morning.

“Then I’ll remove that variable.”

“What do you mean?” Rose said at a whisper. They were close enough for that now. The tug of war in her brain went slack.

“I want to be with you more than I want to close this contract.” He lifted a hand to her cheek, “Tell me to stop and I’ll stop.”

Rose automatically leaned into the touch. She could parse out what he meant by closing the contract in a minute. For now she was just chasing the memory of his hands holding her. Would it feel the same now?

“Tell me to stop,” he breathed, face an inch from hers. 

“Shut up,” said Rose and she closed the distance. 

It was better than the first time. It could be that she knew what to expect or that he was a fast learner. His lips moved against hers at just the right angle. A zing ran down her spine when his tongue brushed her lip. She yanked him closer by his belt loops under his coat and he moaned quietly. She ran her hands up his back and she felt his fingers clench in her hair. Her brain short-circuited and she became her wants. She wanted his lip between her teeth, it slid there. She wanted his hips against hers, they moved there. She wanted her hands on his skin, they went there. 

He kissed her once, twice, and pulled back. Rose felt her heart pounding in her chest. 

“Just so we’re clear, this doesn’t mean we’re okay,” Rose said breathlessly. It didn’t sound convincing to her own ears, but at least she was sticking to her guns… kind of. 

“I am going to make it easy for you. It makes no sense to spoil it now, surely you see that as well. Give me time to fix it, please,” he wasn’t begging, but he was making a request. It was a bit difficult to pull her thoughts back into logic when they felt so much better on his mouth. 

"Easy, huh?"

"For you? Absolutely."

“How do I know you’re not going to hightail it back to the city as soon as I let you in?” She realized the irony as soon as she said it. His thumbs brushed against her neck and her hands were under at least three layers of his clothes. 

“I think it might be a bit late for that,” he said wryly. 

“Smartass.”

He smiled crookedly, pulling her hand from his waist and pressing a kiss to the back. 

“I promise you, until you tell me you don’t want me anymore, you are never ever getting rid of me,” Hux declared. 

Rose laughed and pulled her hand away, “I’ll believe it when I see it. Now get out of here, my neighbours are going to be talking.”

“And you care what they think?” 

“It's called manners, now scram,” Rose jokingly waved her hands towards the end of the driveway. 

Hux started backing away, hands in the air, “Are you going to call me tomorrow?”

“Maybe. Are you going to do the right thing tomorrow?”

“Maybe.”

“Goodnight, Hux.”

“Until tomorrow, Rose.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Ogie from Waitress 2.0! Now with improved consent consideration settings!


	9. Everything Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when Rose has her feet on solid ground, the tables turn again. 
> 
> Maybe this time it will be for the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all have your neck braces on bc we're making some sharp corners on this (2nd) last chapter.
> 
> Thank you for coming along!

“Can you believe this? My lawyers say they actually have grounds for a claim.”

“And you didn’t share the information with anyone but me?”

“Yeah, this whole thing was your idea anyway-”

“And you didn’t share your banking information with anyone?”

“Why would I share my-”

“And you had possession of your laptop every moment since the purchase?”

There was a beat of silence on the end of the line. 

“I mean, not every single moment…”

“I’d recommend settling and cancelling the demolition team for next week.”

“WHAT? Hux you-”

Hux hung up. A sense of relief filled his chest in the blissfully quiet room. His job was done. His job had been done since the sale of Phasma’s farm. The rest, he could see now, was going to fail. If someone had taken Kylo’s laptop, they might have found an email or a bank statement or something to connect a bribe to the land sale. If that was the case, Kylo was not only looking at an inconvenient legal battle, but also the complete destruction of his reputation. Hux would not be around to see it. 

A solution presented itself. He tented his fingers under his chin to consider it. Not only a way to help his case should a settlement not be reached, but also a way to make good on his promise to Rose. 

He punched in the directory for the region. It rang once before connecting. 

“Hello, I’d like to speak to Poe Dameron.”

*********

Across town, Rose was also on a phone call. 

“You did WHAT?!”

“Oh, don’t be mad Rosebud, I just wanted to help you out. You were so focused on saving up and I got worried you were never going to finish saving. Sometimes you have to just take a risk.”

“Paige, I don’t like risk! I had everything figured out!”

“I know you do, you always do. But orientation starts in two weeks and I’m going to sign you up for all the sorority mailing lists if you don't get your butt down here.”

“I have to sell all my stuff,” Rose started hyperventilating, “I have to hire a moving truck. I have to start looking for roommates. I have to quit my job!”

“Chill, Rosebud, I’ll come pick you up. You’re gonna live with me, I’m like a twenty minute walk from the main campus anyway. It’s gonna be so fun!”

“I’m not ready, this isn’t what I planned for.”

“No, but you’re not going to feel ready, sometimes you just have to start.”

“What did you even write in my application essay?”

“Oh, just about how we grew up, and moving up to Resistance to save up, and all your big dreams from high school. They ate it up and practically threw the late acceptance at me- you. Don’t think about it too much, just come get it.”

“That’s not really my style.”

“But it could be. I’ll see you in two weeks, okay?”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye.”

Rose tried not to breathe too deeply in the back alley. The heat and the dumpster a few feet away made her nose twitch. 

Could she really leave Resistance? Could she pack up and go with barely two week’s notice?

The back door of the diner swung open and Finn poked his head out, searching the alley. When he finally spotted her, his brow creased with concern.

“You okay, champ?”

Rose nodded but she couldn’t make her face smile. “My sister sent in an application to the engineering program in the city. I got in.”

“That’s awesome!” Finn came out and wrapped her in a bear hug. Her feet left the concrete. “I’m so happy for you!” He set her down, frowning, “Why aren’t you happy for you?”

Rose looked up at the sky. It was sunny blue, she could almost pretend she could see the stars if she looked hard enough. “It’s for this semester. Starting in two weeks.”

“What? Weren’t you going to apply for the winter?”

Rose shrugged, throwing up her hands, “Yeah I was planning for that. But my sister just… went ahead and did it. It’s what I wanted, but not this soon.”

“Rose, you have to go,” Rose looked over at him surprised. Finn grabbed her hands, turning her to face him, “You have to go. You can’t stay here just to hang out with us. We’ll come visit and all that, or you can come up on a few weekends. You can’t throw this chance away because you’re not ready. This is the rest of your life, you should start it!”

It was almost exactly what her sister had said. Rose was beginning to think she was the only one who wanted to wait. She irrationally wanted to ask Hux what he thought of it. Would he see her caution or would he see her cowardice? Maybe he would have some insight, some way to make her see what everyone else saw. It didn’t matter, she wasn’t going to let a man she just met have a say in a choice like this. 

“I don’t even know where to start. We’re still fighting to keep the town, how am I supposed to pack and say goodbye when I don’t know if it will be here when I get back?”

“Leave that to the town to figure out. Holdo and Poe started a donation pool for all the business owners to pay the legal fees. We’re just employees, you don’t owe anyone. You can focus on yourself now, you don’t need to fix everything for everyone.”

“Who’s going to pick up on car repairs when I leave?” 

Finn laughed and started walking her to the diner door, “Maybe I’ll pick up a wrench, or Rey. Or people will have to actually pay full price at a licensed mechanic. We’ll be fine, I promise.” He held the door open for her, “Now get back out there, Judy’s been looking for some of that blueberry pie.”

Rose straightened her apron, fixed her hair, and got back out there.

When she was walking home from work, her phone rang. For a second she thought it was her sister, calling to tell her it was all a prank. She was glad she’d only broken the news to Finn and Rey, the whole town didn’t need to laugh at her too. Then she saw the caller ID. It was Hux?

She picked up cautiously, “How did you get this number?”

“Poe gave it to me, hello to you too,” yup it was definitely Hux.

“Why did Poe give you my number?”

“We’re co-conspirators of a sort, it doesn’t matter. I wanted to tell you that I have to go.”

Rose stumbled over a corner of the sidewalk, “What do you mean you have to go?”

She heard him suck in a sharp breath, “I did what you asked, I’ve made certain Kylo can’t win. But I can’t be in Resistance when he finds out, if it leaks to the press I need to be looking innocent far away from this whole mess.”

“What did you do? I can understand wanting to avoid the fallout, but isn’t this a bit dramatic?”

Hux chucked through the speaker, “A bit of theatrics makes a more compelling headline, I want to be on the right side of it. My firm has posted half of the legal fees for the case against Ren. I also may or may not have accidentally let a few details slip. Allegedly.”

“Have you just shot yourself in the foot? You didn’t have to do all that.”

“No, but I wanted to. You were right, I can’t have it both ways. I preferred the version where you might still want to talk to me and I never had to deal with Kylo Ren again. So I made it happen. Honestly it wasn’t a huge loss, Kylo can still build his base on Phasma’s farm, I still keep my commission, and come out looking like a good guy.”

“Is that a new look for you?”

“Tragically, yes,” Hux said through a laugh. “I hope it doesn’t clash with my hair.”

Rose laughed too, but sobered quickly, “How long will you be gone?”

“Are you considering missing me?”

“No, just trying to plan out when to send away my other lovers.”

“You can tell them it all depends on how much of a temper tantrum Ren throws. It could be over and settled in a day, it could be months if he feels like pulling teeth.”

“Months is a long time.”

“I agree. I’d like to take you for dinner in the city. I’d like to see what you think of the space research centre. You could come visit, if you had the time.”

Rose wouldn’t deny that she also wanted to see what she thought of the space research centre. “I think I’d like that too.”

“Is that a yes?”

“That’s a ‘we’ll see’. I have some things to take care of too. It’s not all apple pie and sunshine over here.”

“In that case, when you’re finished sorting out the apple pie, you have my number.”

“I do.”

“Until next time, Rose.”

“Safe trip, Hux.”

Rose nudged open the door with her hip, arms carrying her dinner. She set it down on the counter and looked around her apartment. She hadn’t actually amassed that much stuff over the last four years in Resistance. There were the things she needed, a few things that made her happy, and that was it. 

Packing would be a breeze. 

***********

_Two Weeks Later_

Paige dropped Rose off outside the huge skyscraper apprehensively. 

“I feel weird about leaving you here, you don’t even have a bus pass.”

Rose unbuckled her seatbelt, “But I have a phone and a really sweet sister who would pick me up if I called, right?”

Paige made a sour face, “Only because mum would be pissed if I didn’t.”

Rose laughed, “Love you too sis.”

She got out of the car and waved to Paige as she drove off. The office building towered above her like a pillar to the clouds.

She had a plan, she’d come up with it on the drive from Resistance. It had been really hard to say goodbye to Finn and Poe and Rey. She worried about them, she wanted them to be okay, Rey most of all. But she also missed Connix at the bookstore and Judy from the post office and Holdo in the grocery store. She'd even miss the daily battles with BeeBee. As much as she had pretended to be made of stone, that place had found its way through a crack in her armor. Rose knew she would feel the hurt of leaving for a while. She read online that the best way to avoid homesickness was to get involved in her new surroundings and meet people. There was a new apartment, a new school, a new town. There was a person in the new town she wanted to meet. 

And so here she was, standing at the foot of a monster. Her plan really just involved two steps. She’d already done the first by getting out of the car. The second one was a bit trickier. 

She took out her phone and a business card and dialled. 

It connected on the first ring. 

“Rose,” he sounded pleased, “I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind.”

“Hey,” she said, going slow to keep her mind ahead of her mouth.

“You know your timing is perfect, I just got out of a meeting. Is everything alright?”

“Well there is one thing.”

“What is it?”

“You sure have a big building. What do you need all that space for?”

A beat of silence. 

“What do you mean?”

“For a guy who sells property, you sure have the best location. It wasn’t very hard to find.”

There was a rustling noise at the end of the line. 

“Stay there.”

And then the call disconnected. 

Rose smiled to herself, that wasn’t so hard. She didn’t know what he was up to, so she went to sit on the edge of a city planter. The marigolds in the planter looked so bright on such a dreary day. Maybe she’d plant some on Paige’s balcony. 

Her orientation started tomorrow and she was a bit worried she wouldn’t have time for anything but studying and labs. Paige assured her that she could start chipping in on the rent next semester. Rose argued, but she could see it was a reasonable arrangement. She was still missing her last semester of savings, this way she could tell herself that she’d be fine and let it go.

A flash of copper at the corner of her eye halted her thoughts. 

Hux emerged from the building at a fast walk. Rose understood why he always wore monochrome, the sea of people parting around him were copies in black and white. His hair prevented him from blending in altogether, but she was sure he wouldn’t want to. Rose lifted a hand and he spotted her. He looked at her like he could see every part of her and couldn't believe she was real. Rose's chest got a bit tight at the thought that he was still looking at her like that, all these weeks later. 

“I have to admit, I’m surprised,” he said when he reached her. Some of the people he’d passed near the entrance looked on curiously. Hux didn’t seem to notice, or at least noticed and didn’t care. Rose figured if he didn’t care than neither did she. 

Rose laughed, “Now don’t give yourself too much credit. I’m here for school.”

His eyebrows shot up, “You never mentioned school. Is it the university? You know I have some sway with the dean, if you need anything at all.”

Rose rolled her eyes, chuckling, “You have your fingers in all kinds of pots, don’t you. Thank you for the offer, but it’s not worth anything if I don’t do it on my own. If I let you give me a leg up now, there’s going to be some really shitty cars in ten years.”

Hux smiled, a real, genuine smile. Rose felt warmth creep into her chest. That’s why she was here, not to use him, even though she clearly could, but to see what might happen if she gave him a real chance. She wanted someone steady, to hold what she needed them to hold, not to overtake her life. She wanted someone she could count on to be where she needed them to be. 

She realized she was essentially describing a table. 

Regardless, she wanted to see if she could find that person in Hux. He told her he could love her however she wanted, and she was starting to believe him. 

They started walking along the sidewalk. Rose was eager to move away from his building and the people watching them so intently. 

“You’re in my town now, darling,” he said earnestly. Rose thought only someone with his accent could say that unironically. “Maybe not with the university, but anything you need, any problem you need to fix, solutions come easily around here.”

Now Rose did like the sound of that. “Do you have to get back to work?”

“Not if I tell my assistant I don’t.”

“Well in that case, how about we start with lunch?”

“Are you asking me on a date?”

“I might be.”

“I know just the place.”

“Does it have pie?”

“Any kind you like.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's (almost) it!
> 
> A gentle forehead kiss for everyone who made it to the end. You deserve it. 
> 
> What happened to everyone back in Resistance?
> 
> Stick around for the epilogue!


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The population of Resistance gets a little bit bigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *fuckboy voice* Heyyyyy
> 
> Turns out I wasn't quite done with them. Time to see what ever did happen with the whole baby situation!

_Six months later_

Rose’s footsteps squeaked over the linoleum. The floor was clean and reflected the lights in long white strips. Rose was comforted by the way the white strips of light passed under her feet as she hustled. Room 101… Room 102…. Room 103….

Aha!

She opened the door to room 104. She saw things she expected; a white room, Rey propped up on the bed with sweat on her brow, and Finn holding her hand, whispering something in her ear and making her laugh through gritted teeth. 

She saw things she didn’t expect. One was Poe, standing beside Finn at the bed, looking a bit like he didn’t know what to do with himself. Rose honestly thought he would have wanted to stay in Resistance. She was glad he was here though, it would have felt strange without the four of them. The other thing she didn’t expect to see was Kylo Ren gesturing wildly with his arms and yelling at an exhausted looking doctor. She was certain the closest he’d get was the waiting room. He and Rey weren’t exactly a couple and Rey had been pretty tight lipped about their relationship after his development in Resistance fell through. 

“Did you give her the pethidine too? She wanted painkillers, why is she still in pain?”

“Mr. Ren, you have to understand that there’s a certain level of discomfort associated with childbirth. We can’t give her more without risking complications.”

Rey noticed Rose come in and smiled weakly. Rose rushed over to her side across from Finn. 

“Rey, sorry traffic was awful. I’m pretty sure Hux is going to be looking for parking for the next two hours,” Rose said hastily, patting the back of Rey’s hand. A convulsion hit and Rey grabbed onto her hand tightly. Nothing much changed on her face than a clench in her jaw.

After it passed, Rey went back to smiling, “No worries, we’ve got a bit of time. Finn’s been holding down the fort.”

Finn laughed, “It’s been a breeze, she’s high as a kite.”

The three of them laughed. Rose noticed there was a bit of a glassiness in Rey’s eyes. The miracles of modern science. A nurse appeared on the other side of the bed to adjust the IV drip. 

The door opened behind them. Rose turned to see Hux in the door, hair tousled by the wind. He gave a curt nod to Rey which she returned dopily, then turned to Kylo. He took in the situation for about half a second before speaking. 

“Let’s go for a walk, mate.”

God, Rose loved him so much. 

Kylo threw his hands up, “I can’t leave! She’s going to give birth! What if something happens while I’m gone? What if she has to get a C-section? What if-”

“Ben!” Rey cut him off, “You’re harshing my vibe.”

Kylo looked a bit cowed by that. Finn and Rose giggle together quietly. 

Hux turned to the doctor, “How far along is she?”

“Looking at about two hours,” she replied concisely.

Hux gestured to the door, “Excellent timing for a walk.”

Kylo looked over towards the bed. The four of them pointed to the door, even Poe. He reluctantly left and Hux followed him out. Rose gave him a grateful smile and hewinked back at her. The doctor breathed a sigh of relief when the door shut behind them. 

“I gotta hand it to ya Rose,” said Poe, coming to lean on the side railing of Rey’s bed, “I had my doubts about that guy, but he seems like a real stand-up fella.”

Rose tried not to sigh too dreamily, “He’s got an alphabilitzed cookbook shelf in his kitchen.”

“They are very happy together and having great sex,” Finn translated to Poe for her. Rose whacked him on the arm, but then Rey was hit with another convulsion and they refocused on her. 

The doctor came over to check on Rey’s progress. Even though Rey seemed well looked-after, Rose was still scared for her friend. It wasn’t every day someone pushed out a whole person. 

“I have to admit,” the doctor said, straightening back up, “we don’t usually let more than the father in the delivery room.”

“But madam,” Rey slurred, “They’re family. It’s like they are all the father.”

Rose watched the doctor do the mental math, conclude it didn’t make any sense, and drop the subject. Another convulsion hit and Rey gripped Rose’s hand tightly. Rose squeezed back and brushed a strand of sweaty hair out of her face. They were in for a long day. Rose wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

In the end, Kylo made it for the birth of his daughter. He had to stay up near Rey’s head because he kept getting in the doctor and nurses’ way. Poe and Hux had retreated to the waiting room sometime just before crowning. It was for the better, the room was crowded enough as it was. 

When she arrived, they all discovered the little baby girl had lungs on her. Rose repressed the urge to cover her ears. The doctor efficiently took the baby to be cleaned on the side table. 

“Blimey,” breathed Rey, “Don’t think I’ll be doing that again.”

Rose and Finn looked at each other for a moment, now decked out in hospital gowns and caps, and burst out laughing. Kylo stared at them like they had a few screws loose. 

One of the nurses carefully placed the blanket-wrapped baby in Rey’s arms. To Rose, she kind of looked like a big red boiled potato. Rey looked down at the little thing like she held everything she was her whole world. Rose supposed she wasn’t wrong. Rey had always wanted a family, a real biological family that she could call her own. Now she had it. Her and her baby girl. It was hard to see how Kylo was going to fit in. Although, he looked down at the baby with the closest thing to tenderness Rose had ever seen on his face. 

“Out,” Rey mumbled, “Everyone get out.”

Finn reacted first, “You heard the lady! Let’s give them a second.”

The nurses finished packing up their station and collecting clipboards, Rose happily filed into the hall with the rest of them. It had been a long four hours. She needed a coffee or a nap. Maybe both. 

Kylo lingered a bit in the room, but Finn held the door open until he joined them in a hall. Only the doctor stayed in the room. Kylo leaned against the wall and ran a hand through his hair. Rose couldn’t imagine what he must be feeling right now. 

“Congrats, man,” said Finn. Kylo startled, like he hadn’t expected them to talk to him. 

“Oh… thanks.”

“D’you know what her name is going to be?” asked Rose tentatively. 

Kylo bobbed his head in a surprisingly sweet gesture from such an intimidating guy, “She asked about my grandmother, Padme. I think she wanted to choose a family name.”

“Makes sense,” Rose said, “it’s a pretty name.”

Kylo nodded. Figuring that was the most that she’d get out of him, she took out her phone and texted Hux and Poe the news. Hux responded with ‘glad to hear it went well’. Poe responded with a stream of misspelled capitalized words and random punctuation.

“I asked her to marry me,” Kylo said suddenly. His eyes were fixed on the door to room 104. “She said no. I don’t know if you guys knew that already, but I don’t want you to think I’m a total asshole.”

The confession was surprising to Rose. Finn’s eyes went wide too. Rey never said anything about this. She could be private about things, but a whole proposal was a pretty big secret to keep. 

“That’s good of you,” Rose said after a beat, “if you’re doing it for the right reasons. Are you planning to stick around? Being a dad?”

Kylo leaned his head back against the wall. A pair of nurses rushed by. 

“I want whatever she’ll let me have. I wouldn’t have stood in there sweating bullets for the last ten hours if I didn’t mean to see it through,” a look of determination came over his face, “I’m going to do better than my own dad. I helped bring this kid into the world, it’s the least I can do to not fuck it up.”

“Hey now,” said Finn cheerily, “Language.”

Kylo stared at him in confusion. Finn burst out laughing. Rose joined in, spurred on in part by her exhaustion. The numbness in her legs reminded her of her days at the diner. Other than her engineering labs, she didn’t do too much standing around these days. 

“For the kid, you know… kid friendly language” Finn elaborated through gulps. A small smile tugged on Kylo’s mouth. 

The doctor opened the door and the three of them jumped to attention. 

“Rose and Finn? She wants to talk to you.”

Kylo, to his credit, only frowned slightly and returned to leaning on the wall. Rose and Finn went back in. 

Rey looked better already. The sweat had been wiped away and her face had returned to its normal colour. Her eyes were clearer too, happier. Who’d have thunk a baby could do all that?

“Are you going to make us fight to the death to be her godparents?” Finn asked, “If so, sorry Rose but you’re going down.”

Rose shoved him gently and Rey laughed, “Nothing like that. Although, I was thinking you could both be godparents.”

“Yesss,” Finn said, pumping his fist. Rose was flattered. 

“Thanks Rey, we’ll do the best go-parenting we can do. She’ll be the best eight year old car mechanic out there.”

“Or a pilot,” said Finn. 

“Glad you two have got that under control,” said Rey drolly. 

“Speaking of plans,” Rose said tentatively, “We heard about Kylo’s proposal-thing.”

Rey looked down at the baby in her arms, “Yes. I suppose I’ll have to deal with him sooner or later. I know he means well, but people who’ve meant me well before have come and gone. I don’t want to rely on him just to be devastated when he’s gone. She’s my baby, he can’t take her away from me too.”

“You just say the words and we’ll make him disappear,” Finn said confidently. Rey smiled, still gazing at the little critter. 

“Thank you for the offer, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You could always keep him around for free childcare,” suggested Rose. 

“I want to raise her in Resistance. I’ve got a little money saved up, I’m thinking about getting one of the little cabins under the twin peaks,” Rey mused. 

“We’ll help you,” said Finn immediately, Rose nodded along, “Whatever you need.”

“Didn’t Plutt…” started Rose. 

Finn chuckled, “Holdo sent him to jail to tax evasion. Sometimes when I’m sad, I picture the rat bastard sitting in a jail cell and it cheers me right up.”

“Hey now,” said Rose, “Watch your mouth.”

Finn leaned over the side of the bed to peer down at the little thing, “Between me, Rey, and uncle Poe you’ll be swearing like a trucker in no time.”

Rey laughed, “On that note, why don’t you guys go get something to eat? Come back in the evening?” 

“Alright,” said Rose, “But don’t run off into the sunset while we’re out.”

“No promises,” joked Rey, “Send Ben in if you see him.”

“Aye aye, captain,” said Rose. 

Kylo was exactly where they left him in the hall. Finn nodded his head towards the room and Kylo burshed past them in an instant. By silent agreement, Rose and Finn peered in the window of the door as it closed behind Kylo. 

“Did you ever find out why she calls him Ben?” Rose whispered. 

Finn shrugged, “Something about his old name. Would you believe he grew up in a small town up North and changed his name when he got to the city? He’s just like the rest of us, or at least he started that way. I think that’s why she calls him that.”

Rose watched Kylo speak to Rey in hushed tones, looking a bit uncertain. Rey said something back and he smiled. He went to her, placed a soft kiss on her cheek and she passed him the little girl. She looked so small in his hands, like an actual potato. He looked down at her like she held the whole universe. He looked certain now, like something just clicked in his brain. 

“C’mon,” Rose tugged Finn’s arm gently, “Poe’s surely run out of things to say to Hux by now.”

Finn looked pained as they started walking down the hall, “Yeah, he’s probably gone into cat owner territory.”

“Cat owner territory?”

“I convinced him to close the diner every Monday so he can rest and pick up a hobby or two. Now he just spends all his free time trying to train BeeBee into a house cat.”

“Demonic creature. How’s it going?”

Finn showed her his forearm of red scratches, “Shittily. But at least he’s cleaner than he was before.”

"Poe or the cat?"

Finn nudged her with his shoulder, "Good question."

They found Hux and Poe in the cafeteria after they had shed their gowns and caps. The two men seemed to be in deep discussion over two styrofoam coffee cups. 

“What’re you two up to?” asked Rose, picking a piece of lint off of the back collar of Hux’s coat. 

“Hux here also trained a stray cat, can you believe that Finn?”

Rose raised an eyebrow at Hux. He’d never mentioned a cat. He shrugged. 

Finn smiled indulgently and clapped Poe on the shoulder, “I hope you got some hot tips for monster training, but I am about to eat this table. Let’s go grab some food. We can come back a bit later, let Rey get some rest.”

Poe nodded, pushing to stand. He turned back to Hux, “If you think of anything else, give me a shout.”

“Of course,” agreed Hux indulgently. Finn practically dragged Poe towards the exit. 

Rose slid into the chair Poe vacated. Oh it felt so good to sit down. The corners of Hux’s mouth lifted at the way she lay her head on her hands on the table. He still made her feel all warm just by looking at her like he could almost read her mind. He rubbed a hand over her back. 

“Bit of an ordeal, eh?”

“I’d be so mad at you if you got me pregnant,” mumbled Rose, “That was not fun.”

Hux chuckled, “I’ve heard rumours the whole childbirth isn’t all that ‘fun’.”

“But maybe in a bit… like forty years,” said Rose. 

“Okay, you let me know.”

Rose peered up at him out of the corner of her eye. He looked as sincere as he always did when he talked about the future. About them together in it. She nodded against her hands and closed her eyes, just for a little rest. 

His phone pinged and Hux pulled it out of his pocket. 

“Ren’s gone mad,” he stated. 

“What?” Rose mumbled.

“He’s just texted me that he wants me to help find him a chalet in Resistance for him and Rey…. and I guess the little one too.”

Rose sat up, pulling a strand of hair out of her mouth, “What? Are you going to do it?”

Hux typed something in his phone and slid it back into his pocket, “No. I think I’ve had enough of meddling in that town. One would have thought he’d had enough of it too. They can sort this one out without my help.”

Rose laughed, “Probably a good call.”

She could picture it in her mind already. Kylo chopping firewood in the autumn leaves outside Rey's little cottage. The three of them going tobogganing under the twin peaks. Rey teaching her little girl to make a pie and ride a bike on the quiet streets. It could be a nice life for them, full of all the happiness Rey so deserved. 

Hux drank the last of his styrofoam coffee and set the cup down. 

“You seem like you might enjoy a lie down, love,” he said gently. 

Rose groaned, “You have no idea. We have to go pick up the stroller anyway.”

Hux stood up and offered his hand, “How about we head back to the flat for an hour or so?”

Rose took his hand and stood with him, “Yeah. Let’s go home.”

They walked out of the hospital hand in hand, squinting into the setting sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is truly that!
> 
> Even did a walk into the sunset to close 'er down!
> 
> Thank you all for coming along, hope you enjoyed. Have a very excellent 7pm-4am!
> 
> Kisses,
> 
> -mylevelance


End file.
